Leak Spewing 14,400 Gallons of Sewage Daily, Officials Say

THOUSAND OAKS — A state water board has determined that 14,400 gallons of raw sewage is being discharged daily into the Arroyo Conejo as the result of a leak discovered earlier this week, officials said Tuesday.

Following an inspection Tuesday morning by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, the city was ordered to immediately begin cleanup and testing of the water, according to a board order.

Workers replacing part of a faulty underground sewer line discovered Monday morning that waste water was pouring out of a seam between two pipes in the same stream bed where the city suffered a massive pipeline break in February.

City officials said Monday they believed the flow of sewage from the leak was nominal because of readings from gauges measuring flow through the pipes.

“The interim repair of the pipeline appears to have failed and raw sewage is now being released,” according to the board’s order.

City officials said Tuesday night that they expect to have the stream diverted and the pipeline unearthed for repair by this morning.

The site of the spill is on one of two main sewer lines that conveys municipal and industrial waste to the Hill Canyon Wastewater Treatment Plant.

In addition to Monday’s spill, three other major spills have occurred on the same stretch of pipeline that leads to the Arroyo Conejo:

Between Aug. 12 and 14, 1989, 800,000 gallons of raw sewage was discharged; some 12 million gallons spilled between March 10 and 15, 1995, and in February, a total of about 86 million gallons spilled.

The seam where the recent break occurred had been scheduled for replacement during the city’s 1995-96 and 1996-97 fiscal years. But only since July 1 have contractors been working on a $10-million project to replace part of the aging sewer line.

“Had those repairs been made in a timely manner, this spill would likely have been avoided,” according to the board’s order.

In addition to an immediate cleanup and abatement program, the state board has ordered the city to complete an assessment of the contamination and sample water upstream and downstream. A progress report must be submitted to state officials by July 31. Additionally, the city must submit daily progress reports.

Failure to comply with the order could mean the state board will ask the attorney general’s office to take action, including possible fines.

Water from the Arroyo Conejo is used for municipal and domestic purposes, as well as a freshwater and wildlife habitat.