Sebastopol Raw Sewage Spill into Laguna de Santa Rosa

UPDATE January 21 - repair is complete - see below

This is an EMERGENCY message
from the City of Sebastopol.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010 - The City of Sebastopol has experienced a rupture of our main wastewater transmission pipe requiring us to shut down pumping to the treatment facility. City crews will be pumping and hauling wastewater generated in the City by truck to the treatment plant in Santa Rosa, until the wastewater main repairs are completed.

During the next 24-48 hours, residents are requested to limit indoor water use to a minimum, to minimize the amount of wastewater flow which must be trucked to the plant. In particular, use of dishwashers, clothes washers and showers should be curtailed during this period. If you have questions, call the Public Works Department at 823-5331 during normal business hours.
If you live in the City of Sebastopol, PLEASE immediately adopt strict conservation measures for all water use which might flow to the Laguna through the sewer system.

Thank you for your cooperation.

All residents that are downstream of the spill, from the city limits to the Russian River, 500 feet on both sides of the Laguna. (about 70 residents).

There has been an accidental release of wastewater into the Laguna De Santa Rosa surface waterway. If your water wellhead is under water, where contaminants can enter your well, do not use your water for the next 48 hours. Please avoid contact with the Laguna surface water as it may carry contaminants. If you have questions, call the Sebastopol Public Works Department at 823-5331, during normal business hours. Thank you for your cooperation.

UPDATE January 21 - repair is complete

January 21, 2010
At 11:37 a.m. on Wednesday, January 20, 2010, the City or Sebastopol received a report of a broken sewer main in the Meadowlark Field east of the Laguna de Santa Rosa, north of Highway 12. Public Works and Engineering staff responded to the scene and confirmed a break in the sewer transmission main which carries wastewater from the City of Sebastopol to the Subregional sewer treatment plant on Llano Road. At the time it was discovered, water was flowing from the broken main across the field to the drainage way leading to the Laguna de Santa Rosa.

The City immediately made the required reports to State regulatory authorities and proceeded to arrange for containment of the spill and repairs to the main. City residents were notified to conserve water as much as possible until repairs could be made, to limit the amount of wastewater flowing to the system.

At the time of the incident, the Laguna was flooding out of its banks into the field, due to heavy rains earlier in the morning. On the recommendation of the North Coast Regional Board, all residents downstream of Sebastopol with water wells within 500 feet of the Laguna de Santa Rosa were also notified of the wastewater spill.

The City had a contractor on scene by 12:50 p.m. to excavate the broken main and make repairs. Pump trucks were also deployed at the site of the main break to contain the leaking wastewater to the extent possible, and near the City’s sewer pumping station on Morris Street. The pump station was shut down and wastewater flowing in the system was pumped into tanker trucks and hauled to the treatment plant during the afternoon and evening, to divert wastewater flow from the area of the main break. The contractor completed repairs to the transmission main by 9:54 p.m. and the pumping system was put back in service.

The City continues to investigate the cause of this rupture, and will be assembling additional reports from our engineers and field personnel.

Susan Kelly, Public Information Officer
City of Sebastopol
(707) 823-2151
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The Laguna de Santa is an important tributary to the Russian River. What happens in the Laguna gets carried downstream to the Russian River then out to sea. Accidents happen and the City of Sebastopol is responding quickly to this problem. What's important is that people need to realize that this is not just a Sebastopol problem - it impacts the entire waterway from the spill put to the sea and beyond.

The GOOD NEWS is that it is being taken care of as diligently as possible by Public Works. Residents who rely upon the Sebastopol Wastewater System need to realize how much they play a part in the success of this defense and clean-up. Life does not go on as usual during the time it takes to haul wastewater away and fix the problem. Flushing the least amount of water down the drain makes the job easier - and quicker - for Public Works.

In these heavy rains the Laguna will flush itself out as well - and take a lot of cow manure from the dairies that line the Laguna along with the human waste. Agricultural lands that line our waterways also dump many products into the water as rains wash across surface soil and soak through layers of soil, leaching nutrients of all kinds in the process. All of this material ends up in the Laguina, the Russian River and the Pacific Ocean.

More than likely the 70 homes that line the Laguna down stream from the spill have septic systems along with their water wells and these systems get flush with rainwater at this time of year as well. Are all of these systems up to code and as efficient as a sewage treatment plant? Are all of the septic systems that are used in homes along the Russian River up to code nand keeping their effluent from entering our waterways?


The wastewater/sewage spill in Sebastopol has a short-term solution/fix that will bring their wastewater back into compliance within a few days. The Laguna, Russian River and Pacific Ocean are vulnerable 365 days a year.