Sewage Spills

Preventing Sewer System Overflows

Raw sewage spills pose serious threats to public and waterway health. These spills are frequent, are occasionally quite large and add up; nearly 28 million gallons of sewage spilled into California's waterways in just over the first two years of collecting data on leaking sewage collection and transport systems alone.  In early 2006, Los Angeles County Sanitation District spilled approximately two million gallons of sewage onto a popular Southern California beach and into local homes, and in 2008 more than two million gallons of sewage spilled into San Francisco Bay when a pipe burst at a Mill Valley sewage treatment plant.  Numerous smaller spills occur regularly around the state, posing a constant threat to the waterways and people who come in contact with the sewage.

Wastewater from sewage treatment plants contains dangerous pathogens that threaten wildlife, and public health; dozens of beaches throughout California are closed regularly for bacteria pollution.  Discharges can also include toxic pollutants such as mercury and industrial chemicals.  Learn which waterways are polluted in your watershed by bacteria with CCKA’s interactive water pollution maps.  California’s treatment plants and sewer systems are aging and over capacity, making them prone to leaks and overflows.

Homeowners in areas of the state without connection to centralized sewer lines and sewage treatment systems rely on Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems (OWTSs).  These septic systems can threaten California’s waterways by leaching pollutants such as nitrates and pathogens into groundwater and surface water.  Until recently, septic systems have been largely unregulated at the state level.  Over 300 water bodies in California are impaired by nutrients or bacteria; it is not a coincidence that over 14,000 known septic systems are located within 600 feet of these impaired waterways. 

CCKA Is Taking Action

CCKA worked tirelessly for over two years to develop statewide controls on sewage spills. As a result, the State Water Board adopted stricter requirements to prevent and respond to sewage spills, which will reduce the likelihood of ongoing sewage contamination of California’s waters. Read the final regulations and view other information on this sewage collection system spill prevention program, including maps of spills, at the State Water Board's Sanitary Sewer Overflow Program website.  CCKA will continue its efforts to ensure that the state implements the requirements of these regulations, and will ensure that the public has ready access online to clear data reports and summaries, so that the entities responsible are held accountable to the public.  CCKA most recently weighed in on this issue with testimony and written comments calling for stricter requirements in the face of continued sewage spills.

The State Water Board is currently in the process of developing, as per AB 885 (Jackson), a regulatory package that will create a framework for regulating leaking septic systems at the state level.  CCKA works to ensure that the final regulations will adequately address this pollution.  CCKA, along with organizations like Heal the Bay, also is working to ensure that AB 885 is not repealed as proposed by some bills currently before the state Legislature. 

Visit the State Water Board website to view maps of recent santitary sewer overflow incidents.