Thousand Oaks Sewage Spill

Re your editorial “A Failure of Leadership,” Feb. 15.

I applaud the editor for addressing the community’s concern over the “flood of political blame-swapping and finger-pointing” following the sewage spill. This has neither helped our residents understand what caused the 60-million-gallon sewage spill, nor provided an accurate historical perspective on the deferred upgrade of the Unit W interceptor lines.

What do we know about this sewer spill?

The pipe break was caused by external force, not by internal failure. Many of us have feared that the failure might have been due to aging or corrosion in lines first identified for repair and replacement 10 years ago, and again as recently as December 1996 when the City Council voted 3 to 2 (Andy Fox and Mike Markey voting no) to repair / replace Unit W on an urgency basis with developer fees. This work commenced in mid-1997 with an inspection of the line by Boyle Engineering, who found no need for emergency repairs. A small portion of the pipe was discovered to be exposed earlier this winter by staff and a temporary repair was made to cover the exposure. This exposed pipe was covered with riprap. Raging floods washed away the riprap and then washed away 30 feet of pipe. The problem, as outlined in the city’s report to the Regional Water Quality Control Board on Feb. 13, was a result of sudden erosion due to water flows comparable to the highest date ever recorded in the city. This first unearthed the buried line, then broke it at the point it crosses the stream.

While the floods are to blame for the sewer spill by washing out a 30-foot section of a major pipeline, the massive amount of water also diluted 60 million gallons of raw sewage, potentially reducing the feared environmental impacts. This is most fortunate. We are also very grateful to the city staff and contractors who worked around the clock to stop this catastrophe.

Before the events leading to the pipe’s failure were released, the mayor was twice quoted in this paper blaming other members of the council for the spill. His rationale was that it took from November 1995 to July 1997 to approve a 50% increase in residents’ monthly sewer fees for a $75-million upgrade of our sewer plant. This political kite doesn’t fly:

1. Unit W canyon lines were identified for repair / replacement in 1987.

2. The $1.5-million cost to repair / replace Unit W lines was always and still is to be paid 100% with developer fees, not the residents’ fee increase. Specifically, money for this work has been garnered from developers since 1987.

3. From 1992 to 1996, approximately $7 million of sewer fees were transferred to other city funds, primarily to help pay for the Civic Arts Plaza. Some were repaid. Some were transferred as permanent expenses.

In summary, the pipe break was caused by erosion from the force of the floods and not by internal failure due to corrosion of Unit W canyon lines. The deferred upgrade of Unit W had nothing to do with raising residents’ fees.

Importantly, the work on the canyon lines is finally scheduled for completion this year. It is nonproductive to cast aspersions at individuals for El Nino, and the council should move on for the greater good of our city. As your editorial so aptly put it: It’s time to stop wasting energy blaming and concentrate on taking care of city business.

ELOIS ZEANAH, City Council Member, Thousand Oaks