Ruptured Pipe Spills Wastewater: Sonoma County Water Agency

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — An unknown amount of untreated wastewater spilled into a storm drain Tuesday in downtown Occidental when a pipeline was inadvertently punctured, officials with the Sonoma County Water Agency reported. At about 9:30 a.m., construction workers building sidewalks near Hill and Main streets inadvertently punctured a 4-inch pipeline with a metal stake, spilling as much as 1,200 gallons of wastewater, according to a statement from the water agency.

The workers already on scene were able to contain most of the spill, using a small pump to divert the wastewater to a nearby sewer pipeline. An unknown amount of wastewater did, however, flow into a storm drain that carries storm water to Dutch Bill Creek, water agency officials said.

The water agency operates the Occidental County Sanitation District and sent personnel to the scene.

Water agency staff finished temporary repairs of the pipeline at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

In the meantime, the water agency says it is working with the contractor to permanently repair the pipeline that normally carries wastewater through a pressurized pipe from Occidental to the wastewater treatment plant above town.

The California Office of Emergency Services was notified by 10 a.m. of the spill; the State Water Resources Board and state Fish & Wildlife officials will be notified by OES, water agency officials said.

The water agency says it also contacted the state's Division of Drinking Water.

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