Sewage fine could be as high as $5 million
By: BARBARA HENRY - Staff Writer | ∞
Senior Environmental Specialist Paul Hartman for the city of Carlsbad takes a water sample Wednesday out of the Buena Vista Lagoon to be tested for bacteria.
HAYNE PALMOUR IV Staff Photographer
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CARLSBAD ---- The broken pipe that spilled about 5 million gallons of raw sewage into Buena Vista Lagoon this week has been fixed, city officials say. But environmental and financial costs of the spill are just beginning to surface for Carlsbad and Vista, which share ownership of the pipeline. 
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The fine for the sewage spill could be as high as $5 million, since a typical fine for recent spills into waterways has been about $1 a gallon, an official with the state Water Resources Control Board said Wednesday.
Whether the fine will actually be that high will be debated by state control board officials in the coming weeks as they review data on how this week's spill happened, how quickly local officials responded and the history of spills in the two cities, said Eric Becker, water resources control engineer for the resources control board's San Diego office.
How the two cities will share costs of the repair work and other expenses also has yet to be worked out. Carlsbad and Vista don't equally own the pipeline; at the spot where the pipe broke near the Jefferson Street bridge, Vista is considered to be the majority owner. It has an 89.6 percent share, while Carlsbad has 10.4 percent, according to a 2002 agreement between the two communities.
"Both parties have devoted their efforts at the moment to stopping the leak and beginning a cleanup effort," said Vista City Attorney Darold Pieper said. "We have not dealt with the cost-sharing issue."
Pieper said those conversations would in all likelihood be scheduled by next week.
Once any fine is paid, there also may be a battle over what to do with the money, which would go into a special state cleanup and abatement fund.
The money could pay for immediate restoration work to help the lagoon recover from the spill or it could go for long-term projects, including a proposal to shift the lagoon from a freshwater body to a mostly saltwater environment, officials said.
A rusty pipe
Meanwhile, the environmental effects from the spill are becoming evident. Already, an unpleasant smell lingers around the lagoon on the Carlsbad/Oceanside border, and dead fish are turning up in increasing numbers.
"So far, we think there's a couple hundred that we've collected," state Fish & Game spokesman Steve Martarano said Wednesday, adding that a full report will be available today.
The spill, which is believed to have begun Saturday, was reported by a lagoon visitor Sunday evening. When contractors dug up the pipe, they discovered a hole about a foot long and 3 inches wide, Mark Stone, the city's water department director, said Wednesday.
The 25-year-old pipe appeared to be rusty, but whether that condition led the pipe to break is not yet known, he added. The city has hired investigators to look into that issue, he said. Typically, such a pipe should last 50 years, but a variety of factors, including environmental conditions around the pipe, could reduce that, he added.
So far, the city has spent roughly $250,000 on the contractor's pipe repair work, Stone said. The cost of city staff overtime, long-term environmental monitoring expenses and any fines haven't been calculated, he said.
Testing the water
Contractors removed the broken pipe section and installed a new pipe Tuesday but waited until Wednesday to cover over the work area with dirt. They wanted to make certain the repairs had held, Stone said.
They're not waiting to see what the spill will do the environment, he said. The city already has about five devices pumping oxygen into the water in an effort to keep fish alive. And they're sucking water out of the lagoon at about 2,000 gallons a minute and sending it into the city's sewage system for treatment.
How long this will continue to occur depends on how quickly the water quality improves, Stone said.
"It could be several days, it could be a few weeks," he said.
As machinery put oxygen in the water and removed sewage-tainted liquid from the lagoon Wednesday, two chemists with the Encino Waste Water Authority tested three areas for fecal contamination. The samples, which were taken at the west end of the lagoon near Coast Highway and at the lagoon spillway near ocean, will be cultured in the lab. Results should be available by sometime today, said Encino chemist Rachael Willi. The crew also collected samples from the surf north and south of the lagoon outfall.
Biologists with Reston Solutions, a biological firm hired by the city of Carlsbad to take water samples and identify dead fish and bird species, also took water samples from the middle of the lagoon.
-- North County Times staff writers Craig TenBroeck and Philip K. Ireland contributed to this report.
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5 million? wrote on Apr 4, 2007 9:26 PM:give me a break. Carlsbad won't pay a cent. They'll plead ignorance and it'll work.
Good! wrote on Apr 4, 2007 9:31 PM:There is no excuse for this much sewage flowing into the lagoon. Carlsbad has $77M for a golf course and not enough money to monitor the flow of pooh? Pooh I say! Fine the heck out of 'em!
Randy wrote on Apr 5, 2007 3:27 AM:75% of the fine will be paid by the City of Vista. Carlsbad will be responsible for 25%, or $1.25 million. Carlsbad is so wealthy that its share of the fine will be pocket change!
Tom wrote on Apr 5, 2007 5:53 AM:The City of Carlsbad has been notoriously negligent of its wastewater infrastructure. Modern technology allows the creation of spill-proof sewage pump staions and collection systems. All it takes is money, a professional staff and the political will to be responsible. Carlsbad has plenty of money. The lack of professional staff and political will ensures this kind of disaster can happen again and again.
San Marcos resident wrote on Apr 5, 2007 8:32 AM:Levy the largest fine possible. Otherwise, dealing with the occasional massive spill will be just Carlsbad's cost of doing business. So far, the RWQCB has not done their job to protect us by imposing those fines. That has to stop. There are too many time bombs ready to go off unless the highest standards possible are demanded of our water districts and cities.
Sam wrote on Apr 5, 2007 8:57 AM:Over here in Oceanside Vista did another enviromental BOO BOO. It is at the location of the two Dual Magnet High schools at Melrose and HWY 76. Vista is just as wealthy as Carlsbad. Go for it!
Jazzie wrote on Apr 5, 2007 9:17 AM:no apologies can replace egret's haven; wounded nature screams.
Bob wrote on Apr 5, 2007 10:48 AM:When the Buena vista pump station was upgraded in about 1995, the increased volume of the new pumps exceeded the flow rate of the forced main. Testing proved that back then and there was no upgrade to the forced main. The forced main piping should have been replaced with larger diameter piping then, but the powers to be, over-ruled it. It would be interesting to re-open the entire pump station mess and get to the bottom of the rip-off of the tax payers. This entire situation and much more has been covered up for years. This will happen again!
Taxpayer wrote on Apr 5, 2007 10:52 AM:Who do you all think effectively pays the fines? We all do. So how is fining yourself going to solve anything or prevent this from happening in the future? Give me a break...
RjM wrote on Apr 5, 2007 10:56 AM:On the way to the train station this morning, saw a fisherman casting over the orange warning signs into the lagoon. Not sure what he was fishing for but I hope it is catch and reflush it.
To Taxpayer: wrote on Apr 5, 2007 12:22 PM:This is how a heavy fine works to our financial benefit: The agencies pay the fine, our rates are increased, and the increased rates go to fix our sewer infrastructure. That reduces later fines and fixes it NOW, rather than later when the costs will be much greater.
Coastal Girl wrote on Apr 5, 2007 12:51 PM:Heck yeah make them pay-they can afford it after a $77M golf course. And while they're at it, each city should send a written apology to the paper to all the citizens who love this lagoon and value it and promise to get more pressure sensors, monitor more often and get their act together...pay the money and fix the darn problem! It's disgusting that this leak was discovered by the smell by a citizen..at least one person got it right.
Make 'em pay wrote on Apr 5, 2007 1:07 PM:There is no excuse for not monitoring this flow 24/7. Make this is a condition of their fine. We simply cannot afford to let sewage flow through our lagoons unless these cities are REQUIRED to monitor.
Anonymous for a reason wrote on Apr 5, 2007 1:30 PM:It is odd that the Cities of Carlsbad and Vista did not invest in a redundant line coming out of that station. The redundant sewer line approach to improving reliability in pumped systems is pretty much standard at the City of San Diego, unless the line is so large that redundancy is impractical. If there is a problem with one line, they can switch over to the other. Now, gettng the staff to regularly do that switchoover, and check the lines is another issue, which is the reason (in part) for the new Waste Discharge Requirements (WDR) and the Sewer System Management Plans (SSMP) that Carlsbad, for sure, is aware of and on the front line. Also, there is no easy way to know for sure what is happening to a pipeline (especially sewer) that is situated under the water surface. This is pretty much a run-to fail scenario, in an arena that is heavily dependent on a viable system of condition monitoring and avoidance of failures.
Floyd wrote on Apr 5, 2007 1:34 PM:Ah, yes, it's just like failing to make a payment to your credit card because you're low on money. The issuing company charges you a late fee -- but if you could afford to pay the fee, you would have made the payment. Imposing the fee interferes with proper payment! So it is with a fine issued due to the sewage spill -- it takes away money that could be used to fix this spill and prevent future spills. This is a situation where the punishment will cause future transgressions. What agency is assessing the penalty, and how can it be eliminated?
phew wrote on Apr 5, 2007 1:58 PM:To solve a problem for the future, why doesn't Vista allocate a piece of property to build their own sewage waste treatment plant? This would take some of the stress off the force main that goes by this lagoon and the one near Agua Hedionda, which has had its fair share of problems. BTW, when the original pipe was put in, Buena Vista lagoon was not blocked off by the dam and wasn't a nature preserve. Only when fresh water was introduced did the environment change from its original state.
Hey Bob wrote on Apr 5, 2007 2:38 PM:You sound like you have the inside track on information here. Send your technical comments to the Regional Water Qualtiy Control Board so they can fine this outrageous and negligent behavior accordingly. And to all you whiners, yes we pay one way or the other- I'd rather pay to get these cities' attention to PREVENT problems. A hefty fine sure gets their attention!
Taxpayer wrote on Apr 5, 2007 2:50 PM:So you are a proponent of raising taxes to improve our most basic of infrastructures. How could our tax rate not possibly be enough already to keep our basic infrastructures working properly? It's because higher taxes just fuel the fat in our bureaucracy, never solving most problems. The answer is the local and state governments should be more efficient with the taxpayer's money and take care of our most basic of infrastructures.
Maureen wrote on Apr 5, 2007 3:48 PM:Infrastructure breaks. It doesn't happen because a golf course is being built or because someone is not paying attention. I'm just glad that Carlsbad and Vista got right on it and are working 24/7 to get it cleaned up and back to normal. Hopefully, during this clean-up some of those ugly toolies will get cleaned out!
allen wrote on Apr 5, 2007 6:32 PM:Well it is certainly fortunate that Vista increased its sales tax and will be hauling in the big bucks. I guess they can build a smaller new city hall and pay the fine and fix the problem.
Bob & Anonymous wrote on Apr 5, 2007 7:48 PM:Please tell the regional board what you know; these spills are calculated to be less expensive than the fines obviously. It's time for some very high fines, like $500 per gallon...
Ask wrote on Apr 5, 2007 8:54 PM:Here's the deal smart ones. Fine the city as much as you want. Cry as much as you want. Even get out in the streets and march about it. Theres only so much you can fine a city. Its not like the city can dissolve itself. What can the Water Resource Board really do??? NOTHING.
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