City seeks source of spills

June Casagrande

When it comes to pinpointing a culprit in sewer spills, grease is the

word.

Somewhere, somehow, grease, oils and fats are getting into the

sewer system, no doubt much of it from restaurants. Fats in

wastewater pipes act similarly to fats in the human blood stream,

Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff said. It clumps up, clogging

arterials and creating the danger that something could burst.

“Fat’s bad for the heart, and it’s bad for the arterials in the

sewer plant,” City Councilman Tod Ridgeway said.

When this happens in the sewer system, spills occur, sending

bacteria into the ocean and bay and at times, causing beach closures.

In keeping with the regional Water Quality Control Board’s rules,

the city has taken a first step toward fixing the problem by

pinpointing exactly where it’s taking place. City officials have

agreed to award a $47,000 contract to Environmental Engineering &

Contracting Inc. to conduct a study to locate the sources of the

grease. It’s a move that water-quality enthusiasts say could give a

big boost in the city’s far-reaching efforts to keep pollutants out

of the bay and ocean.

“We can’t wash our cars in our driveways, but we’ve got

restaurants flushing grease into our sewer system,” Councilman John

Heffernan said.

The study will have three goals: map out “hot spots” where sewer

overflows are common, create a map of restaurants in the city, and

inspect sewer lines with closed-circuit television technology to find

grease backup in the system.

Many restaurants in the city use grease traps -- devices designed

to keep oils and grease out of the wastewater system. But it’s

possible that some are obsolete or not properly maintained.

For those restaurants that don’t have grease traps, the city may

use the information from the study to educate restaurant owners about

water quality and technology available to help keep grease out of the

sewer system.