Massive Sewage Spill in San Diego

At 180 million gallons a day, for what could turn out to be six to eight weeks, it would be a serious mistake to underestimate or attempt to minimize the severity of the San Diego sewage spill (Feb. 6).

San Diego, like the Los Angeles County Sanitation District, has resisted upgrading its sewage treatment plant to full secondary capacity. Whereas primary treatment screens out a portion of the solid waste, secondary treatment reduces significantly the abundance of pathogens in the waste water. Thus the untreated waste water gushing into the ocean off Point Loma threatens humans who come in contact with it with typhoid, dysentery or hepatitis. In addition, the scores of heavy metals and toxins that accompany the waste water expose surfers to sublethal doses of toxic insult, which combined with other toxins accumulated in the body, can produce serious disease some 10-15 years subsequent. The spill also presents serious consequences for the marine ecosystem.

The 180 million gallons a day of partially treated sewage will create tremendous turbidity in the water (i.e., block life-giving light from reaching both plants and animals). The chemicals and pathogens that threaten humans who have contact with the water most certainly will poison both the marine habitat and the creatures which live therein. Oceans, unlike rivers, cannot rely upon strong downstream currents to carry away pollution. It will at the very least take five years for the waters to return to pre-spill conditions.

Virtually every sewage treatment plant in the United States suffers from antiquated infrastructure that must routinely be inspected and upgraded. At the very least we must, as a result of this spill, affirm that such inspection and updating of equipment will henceforth take place on a routine basis. Local governments like San Diego, Boston and Los Angeles County, however, have a much harder task to deal with. They must explain to their citizens why they have not instituted full secondary sewage treatment at their facilities, which undoubtedly would have minimized the effects of this spill.

ROBERT H. SULNICK

Executive Director

American Oceans Campaign

Santa Monica