A vehicle drives through a flooded area near the Martinez Refinery in Martinez, California on Friday, January 13, 2023. On Jan. 4, the Martinez Refinery Company reported that more than six million gallons of storm water and sewage were dumped into the Carquinez Strait estuary to prevent damage to the refinery. The refinery is one of dozens of minor incidents caused by open manhole covers, ruptured pipes and overloaded sewage treatment plants dumping millions of gallons of wastewater into the San Francisco Bay area. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)

January’s storms offer a disturbing glimpse into one of the Bay Area’s dirtiest environmental mysteries: torrential rains are overloading our region’s vast sanitation system, flushing wastewater where it doesn’t belong.

In just two weeks, downpours across the region triggered the release of millions of gallons of raw sewage mixed with rainwater, according to an analysis by Bay Area News Group, sending contaminated water into dozens of rivers, streams and eventually the ocean and San Francisco Bay 88 reports to the state emergency services.

“Flooded bodies of water contain pathogens,” warned Eileen White, chief executive of the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board. “If you come into contact with floodwaters, you should wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water to ensure you don’t expose yourself to the hazard.”

When wastewater enters homes and businesses, costly remediation and decontamination measures are required to make them safe again. Spills can also have dangerous environmental consequences as human waste, medicines, shampoos and other harmful products are flushed down drains and toilets.

In one incident, the Martinez Refinery Company reported that it discharged more than six million gallons of storm and sewage water into the mouth of the Carquinez Strait, which empties into the San Francisco Bay, on Jan. 4, according to state records. The discharge of partially treated “process water” and stormwater was necessary to prevent damage to the refinery, the company said.

Dozens of other minor incidents were caused by open manhole covers, busted pipes and overloaded treatment plants, from Corte Madera to Woodside and Half Moon Bay to Pleasanton.

State records show that between Dec. 31 and Jan. 3, a total of more than 14 million gallons of wastewater was discharged in the San Francisco Bay area, enough to fill 21 Olympic-size swimming pools, White said. The Jan. 4 storm triggered the release of an additional 8 million gallons, or 12 Olympic-size swimming pools.

More recent publications are still counted. Experts believe that the total volume is likely to be much larger than currently estimated, as the chaotic circumstances of these emergency flooding situations make it nearly impossible to accurately assess the true extent and impact of the sewage pollution.

Like bridges or skyscrapers that are designed to support specific loads, stormwater management systems are designed for weather conditions — and cannot handle the intensity of storms that may only occur once every decade or two.

In dry times, household and business waste is immediately disposed of in sewage treatment plants, where it is never seen, smelled, or considered again.

But two weeks of near-continuous storms have strained the system as torrential rains and flooding invade sewer pipes.

“We saw 13 times our average wastewater flows,” said Andrea Pook of the East Bay Municipal Utilities District.

According to the reports, most of the releases were caused by rainwater flowing back into the streets and up through drains or manhole covers opened by the overwhelming amount of high-pressure streams.

In Redwood City, a spillway discharged polluted water into Borel Creek at a rate of 150 gallons per minute. In San Mateo, 100 to 150 gallons per minute flowed into a storm drain that empties into Polhemus Creek. About 50 gallons per minute were dumped into Sonoma Creek. In Oakland, 25,000 gallons overflowed into Lake Merritt from three manholes.

When a sewage lift station in Daly City overflowed due to rainwater, 35,950 gallons of waste was dumped into the Pacific Ocean. The rupture of a main treatment line at Moss Beach also resulted in a spill into the sea. In Pacifica, an overflowing pumping station resulted in 20,000 gallons being pumped out at Linda Mar Beach. About 34,000 gallons were released in the Belle Haven neighborhood of Menlo Park when a West Bay Sanitary treatment plant couldn’t keep up with the flow.

According to a Jan. 11 report, the West County Sewage Plant in Richmond pumped sewage directly into the San Francisco Bay. “It is not known how long the release will take,” it said.

Three outflows into San Leandro Creek, Barnhill Marina, and an estuary at the foot of Alice Street in Oakland emanated from the East Bay Municipal Utility District’s “overflow” structures, which are designed to discharge high-flow water.

Further south, a sewage treatment plant was flooded on Friday when the Salinas River overflowed the banks of a levee. Infiltration ponds in the city of Templeton were also flooded, dumping 300,000 gallons into the river.

Cal Fire Caption Curtis Rhodes walks past a home flooded by the Salinas River on Chualar Road near Chualar, California on Thursday, January 12, 2023. Like many overloaded sewage treatment plants, a Monterey County sewage treatment plant was flooded on Friday when the Salinas River rushed over the banks of a levee. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)

Mother Nature creates additional chaos. In Oakland, a tree fell on the sewer line, dumping 5,100 gallons of sewage into Sausal Creek. At Crockett, a mound eroded and collapsed, rupturing a pipe and releasing 2,700 gallons. When debris blocked a sewer line, about 10,000 gallons spilled into a drain leading to Lake Temescal in Oakland.

Records show that a single day—December 31, New Year’s Eve—with 51 layoffs in various Bay Area cities was responsible for the largest number of reports to the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

That morning alone there were 15 sewage discharges in 12 cities: Hillsborough, Woodside, San Bruno, Daly City, Pacifica, Burlingame, Half Moon Bay, San Lorenzo, Richmond, Piedmont, Oakland and Daly City. As of midnight, there were another 36 discharges in 25 cities: Alameda, Oakland, San Mateo, Richmond, Pacifica, Martinez, El Granada, Montara, Pittsburg, Corte Madera, San Francisco, Antioch, Redwood City, Dublin, San Leandro, Albany, Berkeley , Woodside, Vallejo, Menlo Park, Benicia, Sausalito, Pleasanton, Foster City and Hayward.

The problem isn’t new, said Sejal Choksi-Chugh, executive director of San Francisco Baykeeper, a nonprofit focused on San Francisco Bay health. But the constant rain has exacerbated the problem.

“Over the years, and usually every time it rains, we see sewage spilling on the streets and sewage overflowing,” she said. “But the successive major storm events are leading to a continuous discharge. That’s the new thing.”

Experts say that as the population continues to grow, the demands on our sewage systems have increased. Now, more construction means more asphalt and cement, so most of the precipitation ends up in our sewage systems. And our sewage pipes, often made of clay, are getting on in years, so water seeps in through cracks and crevices.

The rate at which the urban Bay Area is adapting to these threats is lagging behind the rate at which rain is inundating it, Choksi-Chugh said. Cities need to invest in replacing pipes and upgrading wastewater treatment systems to increase storage capacity and install more recycling technologies, she said. Cities could also encourage homeowners to replace old pipes with grants or low-interest loans.

Without major improvements to our sewerage infrastructure, these dangerous spills will increase as climate change leads to more extreme weather, experts say.

“Our old infrastructure just won’t keep up,” said Choksi-Chugh. “It won’t be able to handle these major storm events year after year. So we really have to think about the future.”

The post Bay Space storms ship sewage into streets, creeks, San Francisco Bay and ocean appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

January’s storms are offering an unsettling glimpse into one of the Bay Area’s dirtiest environmental secrets: Heavy rain overwhelms our region’s vast plumbing system and flushes wastewater into places where it doesn’t belong.

Downpours triggered the release of millions of gallons of raw sewage mixed with rainwater across the region in just two weeks, spilling contaminated water into dozens of rivers, creeks and ultimately into the ocean and San Francisco Bay, according to a Bay Area News Group analysis of 88 reports to the state’s Office of Emergency Services.

“Flooded waters contain pathogens,” warned Eileen White, executive officer for the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board. “If you touch flood waters, you want to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water to make sure that you don’t get yourself exposed.”

When sewage flows into homes and businesses, expensive remediation and decontamination is needed to make them safe again. Overflows also may have dangerous consequences for the environment, because human waste, pharmaceuticals, shampoos and other harmful products are flushed down drains and toilets.

In one incident, the Martinez Refinery Company reported releasing more than six million gallons of storm and wastewater into the Carquinez Strait estuary, which drains into the San Francisco Bay, on Jan. 4, according to state records. The discharge of partially treated “process water” and storm water was necessary to avoid damage to the refinery, the company reported.

Dozens of other minor incidents were caused by open manhole covers, broken pipes and overwhelmed treatment facilities, from Corte Madera to Woodside and Half Moon Bay to Pleasanton.

State records show that between Dec. 31 and Jan. 3, a total of more than 14 million gallons of sewage were discharged in the San Francisco Bay region, enough to fill 21 Olympic-sized swimming pools, according to White. The Jan. 4 storm triggered the release of another 8 million gallons, or 12 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

More recent releases are still being tallied. Experts say the total volume is likely to be much larger than current estimates because the chaotic circumstances surrounding these emergency flooding situations mean it’s nearly impossible to accurately evaluate the true scale and impact of sewage contamination.

Like bridges or skyscrapers designed to bear certain weights, stormwater management systems are designed within the limits of weather — and can’t handle the intensity of storms that might happen only every decade or two.

In dry times, waste from homes and businesses is whisked immediately away to wastewater treatment plants, never to be seen, smelled or considered again.

But two weeks of near-constant storms have stressed the system, as heavy rainfall and flooding infiltrate sewer pipes.

“We saw 13 times our average wastewater flows,” said Andrea Pook of East Bay Municipal Utilities District.

Most of the releases were caused when storm water backs up into the streets, flowing up through drains or manhole covers forced open by the overwhelming volume of high-pressure torrents, the reports show.

In Redwood City, a manhole overflow sent polluted water into Borel Creek at a rate of 150 gallons per minute. In San Mateo, 100 to 150 gallons per minute flowed into a storm drain that empties into Polhemus Creek. About 50 gallons a minute were dumped into Sonoma Creek. In Oakland, the overflow of three manholes spilled 25,000 gallons into Lake Merritt.

When a sewage lift station in Daly City overflowed because of stormwater, 35,950 gallons of waste were released into the Pacific Ocean. The rupture of a main treatment line at Moss Beach also caused a spill into the ocean. In Pacifica, an overflowing pump station caused 20,000 gallons to be discharged at Linda Mar Beach. About 34,000 gallons were released in Menlo Park’s Belle Haven neighborhood when a West Bay Sanitary treatment plant couldn’t keep up with the flow.

In Richmond, the West County Wastewater facility pumped sewage directly into the San Francisco Bay, according to a Jan. 11 report. “It is unknown how long the releasing will be going for,” it said.

Three discharges into Oakland’s San Leandro Creek, Barnhill Marina and an estuary at the foot of Alice Street originated from the East Bay Municipal Utility District’s “overflow structures,” which are designed to discharge water in high-flow conditions.

Farther south, a sewage treatment plant was flooded Friday when the Salinas River rushed over the banks of a levee. Percolation ponds in the city of Templeton also were flooded, sending 300,000 gallons into the river.

Cal Fire Caption Curtis Rhodes, walks past a home flooded by the Salinas River on Chualar Road near Chualar, Calif., on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023. Like many overwhelmed treatment facilities, a sewage treatment plant in Monterey County was flooded on Friday when the Salinas River rushed over the banks of a levee. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)

Mother Nature is wreaking additional chaos. In Oakland, a tree fell on the sewer line, causing 5,100 gallons of sewage to be released into Sausal Creek. In Crockett, a hillside eroded and collapsed — causing a pipe to break and release 2,700 gallons. When debris blocked a sewer conduit, about 10,000 gallons overflowed into a drain that leads to Oakland’s Lake Temescal.

Records show that a single day — Dec. 31, New Year’s Eve — was responsible for the largest number of reports to the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, with 51 discharges in different Bay Area cities.

On that morning alone, there were 15 sewage discharges in 12 cities: Hillsborough, Woodside, San Bruno, Daly City, Pacifica, Burlingame, Half Moon Bay, San Lorenzo, Richmond, Piedmont, Oakland and Daly City. By midnight, there were an additional 36 discharges in 25 cities: Alameda, Oakland, San Mateo, Richmond, Pacifica, Martinez, El Granada, Montara, Pittsburg, Corte Madera, San Francisco, Antioch, Redwood City, Dublin, San Leandro, Albany , Berkeley, Woodside, Vallejo, Menlo Park, Benicia, Sausalito, Pleasanton, Foster City and Hayward.

The problem isn’t new, said Sejal Choksi-Chugh, executive director of San Francisco Baykeeper, a nonprofit focused on the health of the San Francisco Bay. But the constant rain has exacerbated the issue.

“Over the years, and typically every time it rains, we see sewage spills in the streets and wastewater overflows,” she said. “But the back-to-back-to-back-to-back major storm events is causing a continuous discharge. That’s what’s new.”

With continued population growth, the demands on our sewer systems have increased, experts say. Meanwhile, more development leads to more asphalt and cement, so the bulk of the rainfall ends up in our sewage systems. And our wastewater pipes, often made of clay, are aging, so water infiltrates through cracks and gaps.

The rate at which the urban Bay Area is adapting to these threats is lagging behind the speed at which rain is drowning it, said Choksi-Chugh. Cities need to invest in replacing pipes and upgrading wastewater treatment systems to increase storage capacity and install more recycling technologies, she said. Cities also could incentivize homeowners to replace old pipes through grants or low-interest loans.

In the absence of major improvements to our sewer infrastructure, these dangerous overflows will increase as climate change leads to more extreme weather, say experts.

“Our old infrastructure is just not going to be up to snuff,” Choksi-Chugh said. “It’s not going to be able to handle these larger storm events, year upon year. So we really need to be thinking about the future.”

The post Bay Space storms ship sewage into streets, creeks, San Francisco Bay and ocean appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

January’s storms are offering an unsettling glimpse into one of the Bay Area’s dirtiest environmental secrets: Heavy rain overwhelms our region’s vast plumbing system and flushes wastewater into places where it doesn’t belong.

Downpours triggered the release of millions of gallons of raw sewage mixed with rainwater across the region in just two weeks, spilling contaminated water into dozens of rivers, creeks and ultimately into the ocean and San Francisco Bay, according to a Bay Area News Group analysis of 88 reports to the state’s Office of Emergency Services.

“Flooded waters contain pathogens,” warned Eileen White, executive officer for the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board. “If you touch flood waters, you want to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water to make sure that you don’t get yourself exposed.”

When sewage flows into homes and businesses, expensive remediation and decontamination is needed to make them safe again. Overflows also may have dangerous consequences for the environment, because human waste, pharmaceuticals, shampoos and other harmful products are flushed down drains and toilets.

In one incident, the Martinez Refinery Company reported releasing more than six million gallons of storm and wastewater into the Carquinez Strait estuary, which drains into the San Francisco Bay, on Jan. 4, according to state records. The discharge of partially treated “process water” and storm water was necessary to avoid damage to the refinery, the company reported.

Dozens of other minor incidents were caused by open manhole covers, broken pipes and overwhelmed treatment facilities, from Corte Madera to Woodside and Half Moon Bay to Pleasanton.

State records show that between Dec. 31 and Jan. 3, a total of more than 14 million gallons of sewage were discharged in the San Francisco Bay region, enough to fill 21 Olympic-sized swimming pools, according to White. The Jan. 4 storm triggered the release of another 8 million gallons, or 12 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

More recent releases are still being tallied. Experts say the total volume is likely to be much larger than current estimates because the chaotic circumstances surrounding these emergency flooding situations mean it’s nearly impossible to accurately evaluate the true scale and impact of sewage contamination.

Like bridges or skyscrapers designed to bear certain weights, stormwater management systems are designed within the limits of weather — and can’t handle the intensity of storms that might happen only every decade or two.

In dry times, waste from homes and businesses is whisked immediately away to wastewater treatment plants, never to be seen, smelled or considered again.

But two weeks of near-constant storms have stressed the system, as heavy rainfall and flooding infiltrate sewer pipes.

“We saw 13 times our average wastewater flows,” said Andrea Pook of East Bay Municipal Utilities District.

Most of the releases were caused when storm water backs up into the streets, flowing up through drains or manhole covers forced open by the overwhelming volume of high-pressure torrents, the reports show.

In Redwood City, a manhole overflow sent polluted water into Borel Creek at a rate of 150 gallons per minute. In San Mateo, 100 to 150 gallons per minute flowed into a storm drain that empties into Polhemus Creek. About 50 gallons a minute were dumped into Sonoma Creek. In Oakland, the overflow of three manholes spilled 25,000 gallons into Lake Merritt.

When a sewage lift station in Daly City overflowed because of stormwater, 35,950 gallons of waste were released into the Pacific Ocean. The rupture of a main treatment line at Moss Beach also caused a spill into the ocean. In Pacifica, an overflowing pump station caused 20,000 gallons to be discharged at Linda Mar Beach. About 34,000 gallons were released in Menlo Park’s Belle Haven neighborhood when a West Bay Sanitary treatment plant couldn’t keep up with the flow.

In Richmond, the West County Wastewater facility pumped sewage directly into the San Francisco Bay, according to a Jan. 11 report. “It is unknown how long the releasing will be going for,” it said.

Three discharges into Oakland’s San Leandro Creek, Barnhill Marina and an estuary at the foot of Alice Street originated from the East Bay Municipal Utility District’s “overflow structures,” which are designed to discharge water in high-flow conditions.

Farther south, a sewage treatment plant was flooded Friday when the Salinas River rushed over the banks of a levee. Percolation ponds in the city of Templeton also were flooded, sending 300,000 gallons into the river.

Cal Fire Caption Curtis Rhodes, walks past a home flooded by the Salinas River on Chualar Road near Chualar, Calif., on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023. Like many overwhelmed treatment facilities, a sewage treatment plant in Monterey County was flooded on Friday when the Salinas River rushed over the banks of a levee. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)

Mother Nature is wreaking additional chaos. In Oakland, a tree fell on the sewer line, causing 5,100 gallons of sewage to be released into Sausal Creek. In Crockett, a hillside eroded and collapsed — causing a pipe to break and release 2,700 gallons. When debris blocked a sewer conduit, about 10,000 gallons overflowed into a drain that leads to Oakland’s Lake Temescal.

Records show that a single day — Dec. 31, New Year’s Eve — was responsible for the largest number of reports to the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, with 51 discharges in different Bay Area cities.

On that morning alone, there were 15 sewage discharges in 12 cities: Hillsborough, Woodside, San Bruno, Daly City, Pacifica, Burlingame, Half Moon Bay, San Lorenzo, Richmond, Piedmont, Oakland and Daly City. By midnight, there were an additional 36 discharges in 25 cities: Alameda, Oakland, San Mateo, Richmond, Pacifica, Martinez, El Granada, Montara, Pittsburg, Corte Madera, San Francisco, Antioch, Redwood City, Dublin, San Leandro, Albany , Berkeley, Woodside, Vallejo, Menlo Park, Benicia, Sausalito, Pleasanton, Foster City and Hayward.

The problem isn’t new, said Sejal Choksi-Chugh, executive director of San Francisco Baykeeper, a nonprofit focused on the health of the San Francisco Bay. But the constant rain has exacerbated the issue.

“Over the years, and typically every time it rains, we see sewage spills in the streets and wastewater overflows,” she said. “But the back-to-back-to-back-to-back major storm events is causing a continuous discharge. That’s what’s new.”

With continued population growth, the demands on our sewer systems have increased, experts say. Meanwhile, more development leads to more asphalt and cement, so the bulk of the rainfall ends up in our sewage systems. And our wastewater pipes, often made of clay, are aging, so water infiltrates through cracks and gaps.

The rate at which the urban Bay Area is adapting to these threats is lagging behind the speed at which rain is drowning it, said Choksi-Chugh. Cities need to invest in replacing pipes and upgrading wastewater treatment systems to increase storage capacity and install more recycling technologies, she said. Cities also could incentivize homeowners to replace old pipes through grants or low-interest loans.

In the absence of major improvements to our sewer infrastructure, these dangerous overflows will increase as climate change leads to more extreme weather, say experts.

“Our old infrastructure is just not going to be up to snuff,” Choksi-Chugh said. “It’s not going to be able to handle these larger storm events, year upon year. So we really need to be thinking about the future.”

The post Bay Space storms ship sewage into streets, creeks, San Francisco Bay and ocean appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

WALNUT CREEK (CBS SF/BCN) — On the eve of 4/20, the Walnut Creek City Council gave the city’s recreational cannabis users something to celebrate by unanimously voting to legalize delivery of adult-use, non-medical marijuana within city limits.

But there are caveats.

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At Tuesday’s meeting — at which a cannabis proponent offered sample joints to the council, to laughter all around — the council capped the number of delivery services that can operate in the city to three. They expect one service to be HerbNJoy, the city’s lone provider of medical marijuana.

In future applications from other prospective cannabis retailers, the city will use a points system to help decide whether to grant use permits. Since HerbNJoy has been a positive contributor to the city’s business community, the council approved an amendment directing staff to process HerbNJoy’s new amended application for non-medical delivery service, giving them already-earned points.

Deliveries will have to be made to a fixed residential address, drivers won’t be able to exceed the state limit of how much product they can carry ($5,000 worth) and must deliver straight to customers without stopping anywhere else. They also have to deliver to fixed residential addresses.

The council also decided to push back any decisions regarding storefront sales of cannabis until at least next year.

READ MORE: Opioid Drugmaker Reaches $10 Million Settlement For Sales Within San Francisco

In 2018, Walnut Creek adopted its own regulations for “personal and commercial cannabis activities.” City officials said not enough was known about potential impacts to the community if wider use was allowed, and they were also concerned about additional crime and that residents didn’t want more of a visible presence of cannabis in the city.

The city reassessed its ordinance in 2021 and looked at the impact on 28 other local jurisdictions allowing some form of cannabis sales.

In California, medical cannabis was legalized in 1996 and non-medical use for people 21 and over was legalized in 2016.

A 2021 staff report said 70 percent of cannabis use is recreational and taxable, with the rest being medicinal (which isn’t taxable). Moving away from prescription-only use will increase taxable sales, the report says, and “existing retail stores in Martinez and Antioch are doing extremely well, and in the next eight to 12 months, one new store will open in Pacheco and four to five new retail stores will open in Concord. There is an estimated demand for approximately 10 to 12 more retail stores in Contra Costa County.”

With recreational sales legal in Walnut Creek, the city will collect revenue not only through sales tax, but through business licensing and permit fees.

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