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CLEARLAKE, Calif. — County officials updated community members on Wednesday night about the response to the Sunday sewer system failure in Clearlake that has resulted in contaminated wells and led to new public health advice to temporarily relocate affected residents.
The town hall was called Wednesday afternoon, with public notifications going out less than two hours beforehand, as officials sought to share new details about the Robin Lane sewer spill.
The incident began on Sunday morning when a 16-inch force main operated by the Lake County Sanitation District ruptured.
The spill has impacted 58 properties in the area south of Pond Road and north of Rumsey Road, east of Pamela Lane and west of Robin Lane.
The sewer system failure and a massive spillage have caused Lake County Special Districts to warn against using well water, as early tests have shown well contamination.
That, in turn, has led to new relocation advice that came four days after Robin Lane was first flooded with raw sewage.
Lake County Public Health Officer Dr. Robert Bernstein urged residents in the spill area to temporarily relocate out of concern for health impacts.
While the spill was finally stopped following repairs on Monday night, the situation and its developing impacts left county officials on Wednesday with some answers but still more questions.
One of the questions — posed by a community member — resulted in an answer from Environmental Health Director Craig Wetherbee that, as he acknowledged, got everyone’s attention.
The question was whether or not it was possible that the aquifer could be permanently impacted.
“That is entirely possible, that this aquifer does not recover in any safe manner,” Wetherbee said, but he added that it was highly unlikely and would require extraordinary circumstances.
“I have every expectation that even if this contamination continues for a long period, that it will recover over time. I cannot say what that time would be,” he said, explaining that as new water infuses into the system and pushes out old water it naturally replenishes itself.
“But there are circumstances where this could be a permanent or long-term problem. Again, that is a highly unlikely event,” he said.
Town hall called Wednesday afternoon
The hour-and-a-half-long town hall in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall was called Wednesday afternoon, with a Nixle going out just after 4:30 p.m. The meeting started at 6 p.m.
Wetherbee told the full room of concerned residents that they were focusing on what they know.
“We know that this has not gone well and no amount of apologies is going to fix that,” he said, adding that their goal is to move forward.
Lori Baca, Lake County Special Districts’ customer service supervisor, said her agency was notified at around 7:30 a.m. Sunday there was sewage running down the street. When they showed up on scene, they realized a 16-inch force main that runs down Robin Lane was the starting point.
Crew members were on site right away to begin work, Baca said. That included putting out wattles and sandbags, and running pumping trucks for several days, with 10 companies called in from around the region.
That pumping went on around the clock for four days, she said.
They also had to call an out-of-area company to come and replace the damaged valve, which took longer than expected due to the company being on another job.
In order to do that repair, Baca said they had to turn on another valve by Safeway. That 10-inch valve failed, however, they were able to get a contractor there immediately and a new valve was installed on Monday evening. They were then able to turn it off and turn on the 16-inch valve.
Baca said the spill finally stopped at 9:55 p.m. Monday.
Assistance for property owners
To help impacted property owners, the county has brought in an eight-unit shower trailer and a potable water station.
Baca said she delivered water to as many residents as she could, and staff also went door to door to let people know about the availability of potable water and showers.
While the spill is over, Baca said they are continuing to pump out as much sewage as possible.
The team has started with decontamination of ag lines so there is safe water for livestock and natural flora, she said.
Staff also will be coming out to do disinfection on hard surfaces and look at driveways, Baca said.
“We’re not done,” Baca said. “You will still be seeing us out there.”
There also will continue to be around-the-clock monitoring. “We are trying our best. The best may not be the best,” Baca said.
They also have multiple water companies working with Environmental Health on water and well samples, she said.
Baca said they don’t yet know the size of the spill but when they do, that information will be released.
Wetherbee said Environmental Health is the agency responsible for making sure the cleanup is completed.
“The primary safety concern here is the contamination of the water wells,” said Wetherbee.
Some wells have been surrounded by sewage up to casing. Wetherbee said many of the wells in their area were developed well before modern standards — back as far as the 1930s and 1940s. New wells have sanitary seals.
Initial water testing reports for the first 15 samples focusing on Robin Lane have come back showing contamination, but Wetherbee said testing will continue for some time. Some wells will be tested at least twice, others will be tested more.
As of Wednesday, 75 samples had been taken, and that number is expected to double as testing continues on Thursday and Friday.
That testing will help them figure out if the impact is limited to the spill area or if it impacts the aquifer generally, Wetherbee said.
Public Health officer explains recommendations
Dr. Bernstein said residents who live in the area south of Pond Road, north of Rumsey Road, east of Pamela Lane and west of Robin Lane, and who rely on private drinking water wells are advised to temporarily relocate until their private wells are deemed safe by him.
He said affected residents may first ask their homeowners policy for temporary lodging coverage or, alternately, seek assistance from Lake County Special Districts.
Bernstein said relocation is recommended for residents with children under age 5, people over age 60, or those with health or immune system concerns.
Those choosing to remain in their homes are strongly advised to contact Lake County Special Districts to get a minimum amount of safe water, which he said is 60 gallons of water per person, per day, for all needs. All residents should take additional precautions to clean household items.
Supervisor Bruno Sabatier was apologetic in his approach to the public discussion.
“Our system upended your guys’ lives and I'm hating the situation that we’re all dealing with,” Sabatier said.
He told residents it may take some time to deal with the situation, noting that with fires they know how to respond, but that hasn’t been the case with a situation like this.
There were repeated questions throughout the meeting about whether the site of the force main break was the same as one that occurred about 20 years ago.
Baca confirmed there was a break in the area around that time frame. She said force mains are under pressure and so there is no way to check on their condition.
Wetherbee told the group that he is putting together a long-term plan — of one month or longer — to continuously monitor the area to better understand the nature of contamination and the nature of it.
“This is something that we’ll be looking at for some time,” he said.
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