It appears that the County Government Committee is going to investigate wastewater and sewage spills in depth because of the half million dollar fine leveled against Nevada County by the state water quality control board concerning violations at the Cascade Shores WWTP. I therefore did a series of searches on The Union web site with search strings "sewage spill," "wastewater spill," "Cascade Shores spill," "Cascade Shores sewage," and "Cascade Shores wastewater." I then opened the resulting hits and culled those of interest from January 2002 to the present.
This page contains year 2005 hits prior to August. Hits for August and later are given on chronological pages (only one page so far) as for all the topics I'm monitoring. Hits for the years 2002, 2003 and 2004 are given together on another page.
Raw sewage spills at Penn Valley plant, Union Staff, July 14, 2005
State wants answers on mudslide, Dave Moller, June 30, 2005
Health advisory lifted for Wolf, Peabody creeks, Union Staff, June 23, 2005
Sewage flows into Lake Wildwood Creek, Dave Moller, June 17, 2005
County blasted about landslide, Dave Moller, June 15, 2005
Vandals cause sewer spill, Dave Moller, June 14, 2005
Plant back on-line, Dave Moller, May 19, 2005
Treatment plant in peril, Dave Moller, May 12, 2005
Landside near wastewater plant, May 10, 2005
Sewage issues need monetary assistance, Britt Retherford, March 9, 2005
Back-flow gadget may be mandated in Nevada City, Becky Trout, March 2, 2005
Sewage woes leave stench of frustration, Jamie Bate, February 4, 2005
Briefs
Raw sewage spills at Penn Valley plant
The Union staff
About 1,000 gallons of raw sewage spilled out of the Penn Valley Wastewater Treatment Plant Wednesday, but county environmental officials said it was not a threat to public safety.
A power outage at the plant caused pumps to fail and the spill to occur, said Grant Eisen of the Nevada County Environmental Health Department. Most of the spill was contained in adjacent ditches, and some of the sewage may have entered a Nevada Irrigation District raw water canal.
The water district was notified, and county crews vacuumed up most of the gunk spilled into the ditches. Other areas were treated with a bleach solution.
Samples of the spill were taken and analysis is pending. The spill was not in an immediate area of public contact and therefore not considered a threat to public safety.
State wants answers on mudslide
Dave Moller,
davem@theunion.comJune 30, 2005
Following strong criticism of the Cascade Shores Wastewater Treatment Plant disaster, state water authorities now want to know how Nevada County can prevent it from happening again.
The California Regional Water Quality Control Board sent a letter to the county this week, also demanding to know how the county would clean up another spill of raw sewage at the plant outside Nevada City.
Plant operator Don Corbett said Wednesday the county is already preparing a report addressing those questions and will have a rewritten spill plan in place soon. The main pipe into the plant broke May 10, when a hillside soaked with spring rains above it gave way.
That caused thousands of gallons of raw sewage to spill into Gas Canyon Creek for eight days, which caused unsafe bacteria readings downstream. The creek flows into Greenhorn Creek, Rollins Reservoir and the Bear River.
"It's quite possible we'll have to move the plant out away from the hill," Corbett said. "We've already prepared a plant upgrade report."
Corbett said core samples are being taken from the hillside to see if a new intake pipe can be placed underground far enough back from the original slide to be safe. "Once that happens, we can make plans for the location of the plant."
The plant's original protection plan did not figure that the hillside above it posed such a threat, Corbett said. "We didn't realize we'd lose the pipe that far back into the system."
ooo
To contact senior staff writer Dave Moller, e-mail davem@theunion.com or call 477-4237.
Health advisory lifted for Wolf, Peabody creeks
June 23, 2005
A health advisory has been lifted from Peabody and Wolf Creeks in Grass Valley, which were contaminated last week when vandals caused a sewer spill.
Linda Quinn at the Grass Valley Water Department said coliform levels taken at three different spots have dropped to the point where the creek is safe to enter again. The health advisory was issued after vandals stuffed a manhole near Condon Park with debris some time during the June 10-11 weekend.
That caused raw sewage to run into the creeks, perhaps up to thousands of gallons. City and county water officials were not sure how much sewage spilled, because the problem was not reported until noon on Sunday, June 11.
— The Union staff
Sewage flows into Lake Wildwood Creek
By Dave Moller,
davem@theunion.comJune 17, 2005
Up to 1,000 gallons of sewage effluent has spilled into Lake Wildwood Creek but officials did not know Friday if the mess flowed into the lake itself.
A plugged manhole that was reported at 12:35 p.m. Thursday is the apparent source of the problem. It was cleared by Nevada County Department of Transportation and Sanitation workers within an hour.
The department said a bacterial analysis of the creek may not be back until Monday.
Department spokesman Zander Karim said there was no sign of vandalism at the manhole. Last weekend, vandals filled a manhole near Condon Park in Grass Valley with rocks and trash, causing it to spill in Peabody and Wolf creeks.
County blasted about landslide
Fines not levied in sewage spill reprimand
Dave Moller,
davem@theunion.comJune 15, 2005
State water officials have blasted Nevada County for letting thousands of gallons of raw sewage flow out of the broken Cascade Shores Wastewater Treatment Plant last month.
But plant operator Don Corbett said Tuesday the county did the best it could at the time, given its financial resources and concern for those working on the landslide that crashed into the plant May 10.
The California Regional Water Quality Control Board did not impose any fines or threaten legal punishment in the letter, but the agency officially told the Nevada County Department of Transportation and Sanitation that the spill violated state codes of sewer discharge into a stream.
The plant went off-line when tons of earth and rock broke the main intake pipe. The plant is at the base of a cliff in an old hydraulic mining area and the state said the department knew it was a dangerous situation prior to the accident.
Before the spill lasted its full eight days, the state said, provisions should have been made to reroute the sewage to another plant or truck it out. The action that was eventually taken to reroute the sewage through the existing plant was too slow in coming, the state said.
The spill made Gas Canyon Creek and Greenhorn Creek exceed safe levels of bacteria, impairing the water supply for those downstream, the report said.
"We acted responsibly and looked toward the safety of personnel involved," Corbett said. "The hill has continued to move even after the new pipe was put in place.
"They wanted us to move quicker, but being dollars and cents limited, we had to do it right. We're as close as we could get to a permanent fix."
The county already has spent $150,000 on the project and could spend several times that dealing with the still-looming hillside, Corbett said. If the plant is moved from the cliffside, it could mean $2 million more. However, insurance has taken care of most of the cost already and will probably cover most of any additional work.
ooo
To contact senior staff writer Dave Moller, e-mail davem@theunion.com or call 477-4237.
Residents urged to avoid Peabody, Wolf creeks
Dave Moller,
davem@theunion.comJune 14, 2005
Vandals filled a manhole with debris over the weekend and may have caused thousands of gallons of raw sewage to flow into Peabody and Wolf creeks.
"The spill was reported at noon Sunday and corrected late (that day)," said Linda Quinn, a spokeswoman for the Grass Valley Public Works Department. "It appeared to be vandalism."
Residents are urged to stay out of both creeks until the coliform tests return late in the week.
According to statements from the city department and the Nevada County Department of Environmental Health, the manhole just below Condon Park had its cover taken off. The hole was stuffed with rocks, gravel, boulders and trash, causing it to overflow.
Although the sewage was coming out at a rate of up to 200 gallons per minute, the exact amount that moved down the creek is unknown because officials are not sure exactly when the vandalism occurred.
"It sounded rather voluminnous," said Zander Karim at the county department of environmental health. "It was mostly liquid and pretty diluted because the creek flow is high."
Quinn said samples were taken for coliform bacteria tests and the streams have been posted for possible contamination.
ooo
To contact senior staff writer Dave Moller, e-mail davem@theunion.com or call 477-4237.
Cascade Shores' residents can use water normallyBy Dave Moller
By Dave Moller,
davem@theunion.comMay 19, 2005
The Cascade Shores Wastewater Treatment Plant went back on-line Wednesday, despite rains that had workers sinking to their knees in mud as they tried to repair damage caused by a landslide a week ago.
That means the 83 homes on the system can go back to normal water use, said plant operator Don Corbett. Workers were able to attach a temporary pipe to the plant while keeping a wary eye on the steep and soaked hillside that crashed through the plant's main pipe May 10, shutting operations down.
From then until Wednesday, raw wastewater and sewage were flowing out of the severed pipe above the plant into Gas Canyon Creek, which flows into Greenhorn Creek, Rollins Reservoir and eventually the Bear River.
County testing results about one mile downstream have shown fecal coliform bacteria levels far below those needed to close a beach site, Corbett said. Rainstorms in the past few days should flush out any residual bacteria.
"We're investigating a permanent solution," Corbett said. "We're trying to assess if we have to move the plant away from the hillside."
The plant sits below a 160-foot drop that was once a hydraulic mining site. The hillside above it "is totally saturated; it's a quagmire," Corbett said.
The temporary pipe solution will be in place until late this summer or early next year as the county and engineers decide what can be done.
The plant was already due for a $1.5 million upgrade, which could climb to $2.5 million if it is moved. Members of the Cascade Shores Homeowners Association are already paying $2,000 per year for the upgrade, mandated by federal law.
Where the funds for moving the plant would come from is still unknown, but Corbett said insurance money and emergency grants will be the first choice of funding.
ooo
To contact senior staff writer Dave Moller, e-mail davem@theunion.com or call 477-4237.
By Dave Moller,
davem@theunion.comMay 12, 2005
Tons of earth continue to hang over the threatened Cascade Shores Wastewater Treatment Plant as Nevada County officials scramble to fix the environmental mess.
Officials are hoping the rain-drenched hillside that plunged to the base of the plant Tuesday can be stabilized in the next two to three days and a bypass pipe installed to restore service to 83 homes that utilize the plant.
"The fact the plant is at the toe of the slope makes it difficult," said geology engineer Tom Holdrege of Nevada City. "We can't do anything to stabilize it. We'll just have to let nature take its toll and then go in to do what we can."
|
A broken pipe resulted from the landslide. |
Meanwhile, raw wastewater and sewage continue to gush from the site into
Gas Canyon Creek, which flows into Greenhorn Creek, Rollins Reservoir and the
Bear River watershed. County environmental health department chief Larry Sage
said there is "an extremely low risk of any human contact with the raw
sewage," and "the current situation does not represent a significant
health risk to the public."
Still, the Nevada Irrigation District, which owns Rollins Reservoir, is
monitoring water quality there. Other testing sites are being set up above and
below the spill to check for bacteria, Sage said.
The public is being urged to stay away from the site and not enter or drink
from the creek until further notice. Those on the system are being asked to
minimize their water use, including clothes and dishwashers, and are being
asked to shower quicker than normal to retard the flow.
"We are contacting a vendor in Sacramento about pipes and pumps to
install a bypass around the slide area," said plant manager Don Corbett.
"It's still coming down and right now, it's still dangerous to go in
there and do any work, and we're worried about more slippage."
Small rocks and dirt clods could be seen rolling down the 160-foot slope
Wednesday morning in the area that used to be a hydraulic gold-mining site.
People standing above the landslide yesterday saw another portion of the hill
split out, Corbett said.
Recent rains that soaked the hillside and caused the slide subsided early
Tuesday morning. The National Weather Service in Sacramento is not predicting
any more rain until next Monday, and even then, the chance is slight.
The landslide is yet another problem for the besieged Cascade
Shores Homeowners Association, which is already paying $2,000 per member a
year for an upgrade of its aging sewer system, as mandated by federal law.
"I hope we can get more federal funds for this current disaster,"
said association president Bob Crabb. "I'm going to see (county
Supervisor) Nate Beason tomorrow."
The potential for landslide has posed a threat for years, one former
supervisor said.
"I was president of the water (and sewer) company before we turned it
over to the county (five years ago), and we were always worried about
it," said resident Rick Ventres.
The wastewater intake pipe the slide destroyed was sticking out "about 6
feet in the air," Ventres said. "We were lucky it lasted this
long."
County Employee Carlos Espinoza, left, and Tom Holdrege of Holdrege & Kull, size up the damage
from a landslide Tuesday near the Cascade Shores Water Treatment Facility.
The Union photos/David B. Torch
Landside near wastewater plant
May 10, 2005
A water-soaked hill has collapsed above the Cascade Shores Wastewater Treatment Plant, breaking the intake pipe and causing effluent to run into Gas Canyon Creek.
The 84 homeowners tied to the subdivision’s sewer system have been asked to minimize their use of it until county workers get it fixed either Wednesday or Thursday.
Plant supervisor Don Corbett said no one was hurt but the landslide came within 20 feet of the back wall of the plant. County workers with large earth-moving equipment are currently on scene trying to stabilize the situation.
Corbett said no one was hurt when the slide occurred about 8 a.m. this morning. Unauthorized civilians should not visit the site in order to keep them safe.
For the full story, see Wednesday’s edition of The Union.
Sewage issues need monetary assistance
Britt Retherford,
brittr@theunion.comMarch 9, 2005
With costs mounting for Cascade Shores residents to keep their wastewater system running within tightening environmental guidelines, the Nevada County Board of Supervisors has promised to lend a hand and lobby for state support.
"This, as the District 1 Supervisor, is my No. 1 priority. We've reached a point where some people are paying more for their sewer than their mortgage," said Supervisor Nate Beason.
Beason and Supervisor Sue Horne have teamed up to find a solution. The quick fix the supervisors agreed on Tuesday was to support forgiving interest on county loans made to the Cascade Shores neighborhood. Such interest payments would have been passed down to residents.
The Supervisors also opted to defer payment on an existing debt of $170,440 until 2007.
The hope is that, in the meantime, a solution can be reached by asking the state to provide grants or ease wastewater regulations.
Horne will be meeting with the California Coalition of Clean Water later this month, as well as with the Central Valley Water Quality Control Board.
Required device? - Back-flow gadget may be mandated in Nevada City
Becky Trout,
beckyt@theunion.comMarch 2, 2005
All residents and building owners in Nevada City may be required to install devices that prevent sewage from backing up into their homes, the City Council decided Monday.
The installation of a so-called "back-flow device" could cost $800 each, several local plumbers said Tuesday.
The T-shaped devices are already required in new buildings and for significant remodels.
Now, however, they are needed in every structure to protect the city from costly claims caused by sewage backups and for public health, City Manager Mark Miller said.
The city has been slapped with tens of thousands of dollars of claims stemming from backups or spills from the city's aging sewer system, Miller said.
"(We) just don't want there to be children's toys floating in the backed-up sewage," Miller said. "It's a very unnecessary and unhealthful situation people can prevent."
The resolution considered by the council Monday would require all improved property owners to install a device by July 1. There would be no enforcement, however.
The device itself is relatively inexpensive and costs about $50, Miller said.
But installation would require digging up the sewer line between the main line and the building, cutting through the pipe, installing the device, and then sealing the pipe.
The property owner could install the device but the procedure is "difficult," said Ralph Metreyeon, a plumber retired from Gold Country Plumbing.
A plumber could do the job in a few hours, said licensed plumber David Kendall, with Fixed and Flowing Plumbing.
"It's not going to be cheap," Metreyeon said. He estimated the job would cost between $800 and $1,000.
Kendall said he doubted the resolution would pass.
"I really don't think the city would require every homeowner to put out
between $300 and $800 to get this done, I just don't," Kendall said.
The city needs the resolution to protect itself from claims from a massive
sewage spill, City Attorney Jim Anderson said.
"By passing something like this, we can argue (that we're not completely
responsible)," Anderson said. "Without it, we've got a lot of
problems."
The City Council put off a decision on the resolution until a later meeting.
Sewage woes leave stench of frustration
Jamie Bate
Frustration was in abundance Tuesday as Cascade Shores residents and Nevada County supervisors set about to fix a sewage plant that isn't broken.
Supervisors, acting as the board of directors of the county's Sanitation District 1, voted unanimously to increase sewer fees by almost 100 percent for the approximately 80 homes hooked up to the Cascade Shores wastewater treatment plant. County officials said the increase - from $910 a year to $1,795 - was needed to operate the plant through the current and next fiscal year and to fund studies on how to meet new federal and state discharge requirements.
The wastewater plant was upgraded in 1996 for more than $2 million. While the county is seeking funding sources for more plant upgrades - estimated at $2.3 million - local officials can't look to the state because it only gives out grants to address public health threats, said Michael Hill-Weld, county director of transportation and sanitation.
"Ironically, we have a plant that is working very well, so we don't
qualify," Hill-Weld said.
Supervisor Sue Horn is working with U.S. Rep. John Doolittle's office to
funnel about $9 million in federal money into the county to finance the
Cascade Shores and other wastewater upgrades. It will take at least a year
before money for the first phase of work at Cascade Shores comes into the
county, she said. Then the county will have to cover 25 percent of the costs.
"What is so frustrating is you have a 5-year-old plant that was built to
(the state's) standards," Horne said. "What is being discharged into
the stream is not polluting the stream."
Several Cascade Shores residents said they favored pushing the state Regional
Water Quality Control Board on the issue. Residents protested a previous fee
hike last August under Proposition 218, which forces local governments to get
majority approval in special districts before imposing taxes, fees and
charges. The residents didn't protest this time around because the plant's
operating budget would have run out in about a month, leaving the county
vulnerable to legal action by the state.
Gordon Plantenga, the county's wastewater operations manager, said the
ultimate "doomsday scenario" if the county doesn't comply could be
the state "red-tagging" homes so they couldn't be resold.
But whether through the increased rates - up to $150 a month - or state-levied
fines, residents said they are bearing the costs.
"We're talking about some people making this payment instead of feeding
their kids," Cascade Shores resident Dave Deardorf said.
Annette Murphy purchased her Cascade Shores home in 2000 thinking that it was
served by a state-of-the-art sewage plant. With only a few years to go before
she reaches retirement age, Murphy said she is worried.
"I will not be able to stay in my dream house ... if this kind of thing
continues to escalate."