75,000 Gallon Sewage Spill Discovered In Downtown San Rafael

SAN RAFAEL, CA — An estimated 75,000-gallon sewage spill may have gone undetected for more than two weeks in downtown San Rafael, Marin County officials said.

The spill was discovered Thursday afternoon in the Happy Valley and Montecito areas of downtown San Rafael, authorities said in a news release. Officials said the preliminary cause of the sewage spill was a pipe blockage.

Signage warning the public about potential contamination was posted at marinas along San Rafael Creek or the "Canal area," officials said.

No reports of adverse effects on humans or wildlife have been reported, officials said Friday.

The San Rafael Sanitation District cleaned up the spill about three hours after it was reported on Thursday, county officials said.

Environmental health authorities were still investigating the incident on Saturday and looking into whether sewage flowed into the San Rafael Creek or the San Francisco Bay, officials said.

Officials believe the sewage flowed through storm drain pipes downhill toward the canal to a stormwater pump station behind a shopping center. Typically, the pump discharges stormwater into the canal, according to the release.

The pump station was turned off as soon as the district was notified of the spill on Thursday, officials said. On Friday, sanitation officials were still working to move all the water stored at the pump station into the nearby sewer system.