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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – County and city of Clearlake officials on Wednesday held a town hall at Clearlake City Hall to update residents on recovery progress and next steps following the Robin Lane sewage spill two and a half weeks ago.
The two-hour meeting was the third weekly town hall-style session with officials and residents since Jan. 11, when a force main on Robin Lane ruptured.
The failure released an estimated 2.9 million gallons of raw sewage from a sewer system owned and operated by the Lake County Sanitation District, which is overseen by Lake County Special Districts.
More than 200 properties relying on private water wells across an area of about 297 acres have been impacted and remain under a public health advisory not to use well water.
Wednesday marked the 18th day residents had been without clean running water.
The immediate response to the spill was led by Lake County Special Districts. Command was transferred Monday to a joint command between the city of Clearlake and the Lake County Office of Emergency Services.
County officials including Environmental Health Director Craig Wetherbee, Special Districts Administrator Robin Borre, Health Services Director Anthony Arton, Public Health Officer Dr. Bob Bernstein and Social Services Director Rachael Dillman Parson were in attendance.
Also on hand were city staff and officials, including City Council members Dirk Slooten, Mary Wilson and Russ Cremer. Cremer lives in the spill area and whose well has been impacted.
City-led assessments at affected properties began Tuesday.
Officials at the meeting say they are actively collecting information from impacted residents and will make “data-driven” decisions regarding resources and solutions toward recovery.
“It’s continuing to take way longer than I want it to and I can only imagine what you guys are feeling,” said District 2 Supervisor Bruno Sabatier.
Undersheriff Corey Paulich, who also is the deputy director for the Office of Emergency Services, said the city and his agency established the incident command team on Monday and began making plans.
“Our role is recovery,” and trying to get everyone back to their homes,” Paulich said.
Beginning on Monday, the incident command sent out assessment teams working across the spill area, which has been mapped out in six zones.
The area directly impacted by the sewage flow was mapped out as “Zone A1” which encompasses south of Pond Road, north of Rumsey, west of Robin Lane and east of Pamela Lane.
Within that area, everyone who “needed a tank will have a tank,” said Paulich.
Paulich said the assessment teams were able to test the majority of houses in every zone with the exception of a couple, which will be done on Thursday. The test results will take about 24 hours.
The estimated cost of that testing is $300 per well per day, costs that are expected to be covered by a $750,000 appropriation approved by the Board of Supervisors last week. Those funds also will cover water tanks meant to be a temporary solution for the residents needing a backup water source.
City Manager Alan Flora said they wouldn’t be able to do the work without the new team in place.
He said the goal for this incident command team is very simple – to get people back in their homes as quickly as possible.
The assessment teams covered 60 to 70 percent of the parcels on Tuesday; the remainder should have been contacted on Wednesday. Those spill area residents who didn’t receive outreach are asked to contact the city.
Flora said the team hopes to start reducing the incident’s scope and they expect to move to an updated advisory for water use as soon as Thursday.
Well sanitization has been ongoing in the spill area. When a well is tested and gets two negative tests in a row – 24 hours apart – for E. coli and coliform, the property owner will get a notification with test results and information on how to treat their wells going forward, Flora said.
After two clean tests, residents will get the all clear to use their wells, he said.
Flora also reported that a hydrologist has been hired to assist with studying the aquifer and helping to understand the spill’s impact on it.
Community members seek answers
The nearly 100 people in attendance spent about an hour and a half asking questions about numerous topics – in particular, who will get the backup water tanks, soil testing and safety, how the money approved by the Board of Supervisors will be spent, how much longer it might take to solve the water quality program and why some properties where wells are testing positive for contaminants aren’t on the map.
Cassandra Hulbert, who lives in the spill area, is immunocompromised and has two disabled children. Her well continues to have “hot” tests showing high levels of E. coli and coliform, but she said she’s yet to get a water tank, while she’s watched them go in at nearby properties.
In response to questions about tank distribution and prioritization, Sgt. Ben Moore said it was location based, and the new data and test results will help guide where tanks go.
Stephanie Piseno, who along with husband Juan runs a day care at their home on Robin Lane, said she made claims on her homeowners and day care insurance and is going to lose them as a result. She’s also losing children who previously attended her day care, and she is concerned about her children being able to play outside.
“I don’t even know what to do,” she said, adding that she’s never going to feel comfortable or safe on her property.
Flora said they are working on possible long-term plans and outside funding sources to connect to public water and the sewer system itself.
When asked by a spill area resident about who is going to oversee Lake County Special Districts to ensure they are doing property maintenance, Flora said the Board of Supervisors and the State Water Board have oversight.
He added that there have been issues in the sewer system “for a significant period of time.” The Clearlake City Council is very concerned about the situation, and they want to have a role in the governance of Special Districts.
Asked about when residents could expect a return to normalcy, Paulich responded, “I don’t know that we can give you a date.”
The incident team isn’t yet committing to another town hall, however, daily communication to the community about the incident will resume on Thursday, Flora said.
Flora said the city of Clearlake’s website will be the main source of information, with a webpage dedicated to the incident.
“All of the resources that we have available will be posted there,” he said.
Additional information requests about the incident can be directed to Administrative Services Director/City Clerk Melissa Swanson, who also is acting as the incident’s public information officer, at 707-994-8201, Extension 106.
Staff reporter Lingzi Chen contributed to this report.
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