Safeguards Posed for Sewage Tests

City officials told the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday that they are putting new safeguards in place for future year-2000 computer tests to avoid a sewage spill like the one that occurred last month in Van Nuys.

Nearly 3 million gallons of raw sewage spilled into Woodley Avenue Park on June 16 after a Y2K test mistakenly closed a sewer main at the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant.

Sanitation Bureau Director Judith Wilson told the council Tuesday in a written report that her agency has learned from its mistakes and is reviewing testing protocols, computer programs and other procedures before resuming tests of the city’s four sewage treatment plants.

“What we learned from the Tillman event is that if there is a power outage and we switch to back-up energy power, there may be collateral issues which are not strictly Y2K-related,” Wilson said in a five-page written report.

A new checklist has been developed for future tests, and spotters will be assigned at critical points outside the plants to watch for potential sewage leaks, Wilson said.

“We may not be able to trust our control panels in a Y2K event,” she said. “We can’t be flying blind. We will need personnel in the field as our eyes and ears.”

The bureau plans to hold a conference in late August for other sewage-treatment agencies to share greater details of lessons learned in the Tillman incident.

The conference was requested by the Regional Water Quality Control Board, which recently concluded an investigation that determined the accident could have been prevented with better planning and communication.

Council members said they believe the Sanitation Bureau is doing all it can to avoid a repeat of the Tillman spill.

“It was a pretty thorough acknowledging and admitting that there was a glitch that caused a real problem that they were not aware of,” said Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski, whose district includes the Tillman plant.

She said it is important to do tests before Jan. 1, 2000, to determine in advance what might occur if computers malfunction because of problems in reading the date.

“I clearly am satisfied,” Miscikowski said of the report. “The bureau was willing to step up and admit there was a problem.”