Blackouts Could Bring Sewage Spills

Underground and unnoticed, the potential multi-city calamities awaiting California due to rolling blackouts cannot be ignored: namely, the pump stations our waste-water systems rely upon.

Every town has a series of these devices, similar to a ship’s bilge pump, to assist the millions of gallons of sewage on their way for treatment. Gravity can do only so much, and the city of Laguna Beach provides a shocking example of how little time and money has been invested in anticipation of these energy fluctuations over the years. With approximately 12 stations, Laguna has only one backup generator. The occasional anomaly of a spill is one problem, but what if power goes out citywide?

The wells in which these pumps lie have a 15- to 75-minute holding capacity--after that, they’ll start overflowing. We’ve been promised that these blackouts will not exceed an hour, but the multiple disaster possibilities are inherent and alarming. Many recent sewage spills by Moulton Niguel and Rancho Margarita water districts could have been avoided, yet inexplicably, the warning devices used to alert us are left on the same electrical circuit as the remainder of the equipment.

Questions and anxieties abound: Responsible for the public’s health and safety, these water districts have hundreds of millions in cash flow, yet never seemed to have peered into this scenario--California’s storm drains, streams and ocean outfalls overwhelmed by lack of planning.

Roger von Butow

Clean Water Now Coalition

Laguna Beach