Report on Sewage Spill Cleanup Efforts Expected

Regional and federal regulators are awaiting a report on the handling of a Dec. 17 sewage spill at this North Lake Tahoe community.

An undetermined amount of sewage spilled into the Sierra lake known for its clear blue waters after a pipeline on Shoreline Circle broke.

The Incline Village General Improvement District must present evidence to both the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and Environmental Protection Agency showing it properly handled the spill.

“It’s very serious. Any sewer spill is serious especially when it’s right on the shoreline,” said Steve Chilton, chief of Tahoe agency’s environmental compliance division.

Roger Eggenburg, director of utilities, said the district is unsure how much sewage spilled because of uncertainty over when the line broke. But he estimates no more than 2,000 gallons were released.

District crews were called after a building contractor at an adjacent property spotted the discharge.

Crews found wastewater coming from the pipe under a rock shoreline stabilization wall and contained the spill a short time later. Cleanup efforts were completed the next day.

The line failure was caused by the shifting of large rocks that crushed a 12-foot-long section of pipe.

Although the spill was one of the worst in recent years, Eggenburg said, it poses no immediate health risk except to people swimming next to the pipe.