Heavy Storm Causes Wastewater Overflows in Sonoma County

Heavy rain Thursday caused wastewater to overflow at four locations in the Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District and one location in the Penngrove Sanitation Zone, the Sonoma County Water Agency said.

The wastewater overflows that occurred between 8:30 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. ranged from 15 to 75 gallons a minute, the SCWA said in a news release.

The wastewater was coming out of manholes after the rain leaked into the collection system, SCWA spokesman Brad Sherwood said.

The overflow was fairly diluted and there are no environmental impacts, Sherwood said.

Water Agency crews anticipated wastewater overflow with the forecast of several inches of rain in the county and crews were pumping out the overflow as much as possible, Sherwood said.

The Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District's staff was up all night monitoring the wastewater collection system that treats wastewater equal to approximately 17,000 single-family dwellings in the City of Sonoma and the unincorporated areas of Agua Caliente, Boyes Hot Springs, Eldridge, Fetters Hot Springs, Glen Ellen, Schellville, Temelec and Vineburg, the Water Agency said.

AccuWeather said the Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District registered approximately two inches of rain over a 24-hour period, the SCWA said.

The inflow into the treatment plant grew from 4.5 million gallons a day to more than 14 million gallons a day during the past week of rain, according to the Water Agency.

The Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District's treatment plant is capable of treating up to 12 million gallons a day and storing up to 35 million gallons of untreated wastewater, the Water Agency said.

Staff is working to minimize the flows as much as possible and evaluate any impacts to public and environmental health and will continue to monitor the collection systems, the Water Agency said.

The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Sonoma County Health Services and Fire and Emergency Services were notified, the Sonoma County Water Agency said.

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