Crews Halt Leaking of Raw Sewage Into Arroyo
Repair crews Saturday stemmed the county’s worst sewage spill in a decade, stopping the 400,000-gallon-a-day flow of raw sewage pouring into the Arroyo Simi flood control channel in Moorpark, authorities said.
Two bypass lines on different sections of a leaking pipe were completed and two pumps were installed to suck sewage from the pipeline, said Reddy Pakala, manager of the Ventura County Water Works Districts.
“Everything went as we expected,” Pakala said.
The bypass lines, installed at Avenida Colonia and Condor Drive, are temporary. The broken sewer pipes will take at least six weeks to replace and will cost more than $800,000, Pakala said.
More than 6 million gallons of sewage have spilled into the arroyo since Feb. 12, when storms caused breaks in sewer lines running along the channel.
County health officials have warned residents to stay away from the arroyo. Anyone who comes in contact with the dirty water risks getting sick, possibly even contracting hepatitis.
Hundreds of pounds of powdered chlorine have been dumped into the sewer pipeline in an attempt to kill bacteria before the sewage reaches the flood channel. The flood channel has been carrying the sewage to Calleguas Creek in Camarillo. The creek flows into Mugu Lagoon near Point Mugu.
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