How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
CLEARLAKE, Calif. — Water tank installation has slowed while well testing continues for residents impacted by the Robin Lane sewer spill, according to a new city update.
Two additional water tanks were installed on Tuesday, including one through Lake County Social Services. The other was installed by the incident management team and funded by the $750,000 approved by the Board of Supervisors on Jan. 21.
Four water tanks were installed on Monday.
As of Tuesday, a total of 31 water tanks had been hooked up for residents who rely on private wells and were impacted by the sewage spill caused by the rupture of a county-owned and operated 16-inch force main on Robin Lane.
But that represents only a fraction of the total homes relying on potentially contaminated private wells.
The spill began more than three weeks ago, on Sunday, Jan. 11, releasing nearly three million gallons of sewage over a roughly 38-hour period.
On Jan. 26, when the city of Clearlake and the Lake County Office of Emergency Services announced joint command to lead the recovery, the city reported that the number of impacted properties had grown from an initial estimate of 58 to “over 200.”
Clearlake City Manager Alan Flora told Lake County News on Tuesday that the most updated estimate is 164 houses, following a closer review that excluded vacant properties and parcels without residences.
All residents within the 550-acre impact zone remain under the public health advisory to avoid using water from their wells amid ongoing well testing and sanitization efforts.
On Tuesday, an additional 21 water samples were collected, bringing the total to 462, up from 441 the previous day. These samples have been drawn from 151 sites, a figure that has remained unchanged since Jan. 29.
The total number of wells sanitized remained unchanged from Monday at 65.
At last Wednesday’s town hall, officials said a well is deemed safe for use once it receives two negative test results — taken 24 hours apart — for E. coli and coliform following sanitization.
That approach has been abandoned.
A third test could still return positive after two negative results, Flora said in a brief interview Tuesday.
Following discussions with the hydrologist hired to study the aquifer and the spill’s impacts, the incident management team decided to revise its testing protocol, according to Flora.
Flora confirmed that the hydrologist will attend the fourth town hall in the series on the spill, scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 4, at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
Email staff reporter Lingzi Chen at