How to resolve AdBlock issue? LAKEPORT, Calif. — A day after the city of Clearlake issued a local emergency declaration, the Board of Supervisors followed suit on Tuesday with two new emergency proclamations from county agencies.
The resolutions for the 2026 Robin Lane Sewer Spill emergency declarations were added as extra items on the board’s regular agenda and discussed during the Tuesday afternoon session.
A 16-inch force main on Robin Lane in Clearlake, and owned and operated by the Lake County Sanitation District, ruptured on Sunday morning, beginning a massive raw sewage spill that has impacted an estimated 58 properties in the area south of Pond Road and north of Rumsey Road, east of Pamela Lane and west of Robin Lane.
Property owners have been warned not to drink well water, although water provided by water companies is safe.
The spill also has resulted in untreated sewage going into Burns Valley Creek and Clear Lake.
Lake County Special Districts said on Tuesday that the force main was repaired the previous night, with mitigation, cleanup and monitoring efforts continuing as a precautionary measure.
The county said the damaged sewer infrastructure serves a large portion of the city of Clearlake and surrounding areas.
The report to the board for the Health Services Department’s item said the spill “has affected stormwater infrastructure, roadways, surface waters, and the Clear Lake watershed. Due to continuing system failures and the inability to fully isolate the damaged pipeline, the duration and extent of contamination and public health risk remain uncertain.”
The supervisors were asked to proclaim the existence of a local emergency for the spill “in order to support the City of Clearlake and enable full Operational Area response and recovery actions.”
The board took up the proclamations toward the end of its daylong meeting.
Public Health Officer Dr. Robert Bernstein, Health Services Director Anthony Arton and Environmental Health Director Craig Weatherbee presented the proclamation to the board.
Supervisor Bruno Sabatier said during the discussion, “I feel like I need to apologize to the people in that area. It is a disgusting situation to deal with.”
He said that they were able to stop the spill at about 9:45 p.m. the previous night. “And that took way too long, unfortunately, and you had to endure that for such a long time. So we're doing everything we can, I know, to try to reduce the impacts right now.”
The board unanimously approved the proclamation.
That item was followed by another emergency proclamation from the Lake County Office of Emergency Services, presented by Sheriff Luke Bingham.
Bingham said the second emergency proclamation better prepares his agency for responding to the city and also allows them to contact the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Service for additional support for mitigation and cleanup.
That proclamation also was unanimously approved.
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