Crews hauling sewage after spill near riverbed

By: DARRYN BENNETT - Staff Writer | Friday, January 4, 2008 11:01 PM PST ∞

BONSALL -- A 14,000-gallon sewage spill Thursday near the San Luis Rey River was completely contained within one hour and doesn't pose a threat to the drinking water supply, Rainbow Municipal Water District officials said Friday.

The district is already facing as much as $5 million in fines from the San Diego Regional Water Control Board because of a 756,000-gallon spill last September, according to Dave Seymour, the district's general manager.

Sewage began to seep Thursday morning into a dry portion of the riverbed after a sealant burst, flooding an underground pump station at the end of Little Gopher Canyon Road in Bonsall, officials said.

"Any sewer spill is bad, but our guys got on this one right away," Seymour said, referring to Thursday's spill.

The spill was detected at around 10 a.m. Thursday, and district crews had it 100 percent contained by 11 a.m. that day, Seymour said.

Water samples from the riverbed are being evaluated, and the district will receive the results sometime next week. Seymour said he doesn't expect the tests to show any damage to the watershed.

"(The pump station) is adjacent to San Luis Rey River, but fortunately for us the river runs on the other side of the riverbed and the side where we had the spill was dry," Seymour said.

At least seven tanker trucks, each one equipped to haul nearly 5,000 gallons, began removing the spilled sewage late Thursday afternoon. Seymour said that at least some of the trucks will work through the weekend until the station dries out and can be returned to service.

The cost of the spill is unknown. Seymour said he doesn't expect the spill -- the second in four months -- to prompt additional fines from the regional water board.

"Each spill is looked at on an individual basis. This was a mechanical failure and crews detected it within minutes," he said. "I think (the regional water board) will realize this is a totally separate case (from the September spill)."

Two days elapsed before crews were able to pinpoint the exact location of the Sept. 4 spill, which dumped 756,000 gallons of sewage into wetlands on the east side of Interstate 15, north of Pala Road. District officials said many of the manholes in that area are buried and inaccessible for routine maintenance, and that the spill was caused by overgrown roots blocking the pipe.

Although it will be several months before the regional water board will decide if it will levy the maximum $5 million in fines allowed by law for the September spill, Seymour has said that he anticipates a much lower amount based on the district's sound environmental record.

Water control board procedures mandate that a district's track record be considered when determining the amount of the fines levied. According to the water district, including Thursday's spill, Rainbow Municipal has had three sewage spills since 2003.

Contact staff writer Darryn Bennett at (760) 740-5420 or dmbennett@nctimes.com.