October sewage spill is costly to city

The October malfunction of the Bluebird lift station was costly in terms of money and the environment.

About 500,000 gallons of sewage spewed onto the city beaches between the early hours of Oct. 29 when the alarm went off and the successful staunching of the flow. The cost of the emergency response and repair and recovery from the spill is estimated to cost $210,000, which was appropriated by the council at the Nov. 18 meeting.

“We were able to reestablish service by 10 a.m., by the grace of God and one motor that continued to function despite being submerged,” said David Shissler, city director of water quality.

An investigation of the spill requested by Mayor Jane Egly and Mayor Pro Tem Cheryl Kinsman concluded that city sewer crews responded efficiently to the spill with the assistance of police, fire fighters, and lifeguards.

“We must express out thanks to South Coast Water District [personnel] who were invaluable,” Shissler said.

Consultant Jeff Pate of Dudek Engineering reported that when he arrived at the site about 30 hours after the spill, there were no odors outside the lift station, the exterior ground was relatively dry and free of sewage solids.

The interior of the pump station was virtually odor free, dry and substantially clean, according to the report. Inside, the environment was conducive to pump station operation and maintenance, Pate reported. Pate concluded from his investigation that the spill was cause by a flaw in the installation of a flange 15 years ago.

Pate also opined that power surges could have contributed.

Shissler said the malfunction was not connected to the North Coast Interceptor spill in April, although some emergency repairs were required as a result of the structural breach in the ceiling of the Bluebird wet well. After successful repairs, rehabilitation plans were immediately begun and plans were nearly completed by Dudek when the October spill occurred.

The plans are being augmented subsequent to the post-spill investigation and are expected to be completed by mid-December.

Additions to the plans include an expanded bypass capability to isolate both the life station and the North Coast Interceptor downstream to the South Orange County Wastewater Authority’s Coastal Treatment Plant.

The Bluebird lift station pumps about 2.4 million gallons of sewage a day to the treatment plant.

As of Nov., 13, the lift station is operating with two pumps and an emergency bypass system serving as redundant backup.

“It was a great team effort under very messy circumstances,” Egly said.