California’s deadly storms have destroyed piers, flooded communities, and have now sent millions of gallons of raw sewage into the San Francisco Bay.

Dozens of incidents have occurred across Northern California where the wastewater plumbing system became overwhelmed, releasing harmful chemicals like pharmaceuticals along with human waste into rivers feeding the San Francisco Bay and the ocean, the Mercury News reported.

CALIFORNIA STORM VIDEOS SHOW TSUNAMI-LIKE DISASTERS

“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,” said Eileen White, executive officer of the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board. “Flooded waters contain pathogens.”

Floodwaters surround a home in the Chualar community of Monterey County, Calif., as the Salinas River overflows its banks on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023.

Noah Berger/AP

More than 14 million gallons of sewage was released in the region between Dec. 31 and Jan. 3, an amount equal to 21 Olympic-sized swimming pools. A Jan. 4 storm released another 8 million gallons, White said.

A refinery in the area that has a history of environmental disasters released more than 6 million gallons of wastewater on Jan. 4, according to state records.

Martinez Refinery Company sent thick black smoke flaring into the atmosphere in 2010 and 2015, then a hazardous powder in November 2022.

The discharge of partially treated “process water” and stormwater was necessary to avoid damage to the refinery, the company reported.

Smaller creeks were inundated with sewage as well. A manhole flooded in Redwood City, sending wastewater into Borel Creek at 150 gallons per minute, while 8 miles away, a similar amount poured into a storm drain that leads to Polhemus Creek. Then in Oakland, three overflowing manholes resulted in 25,000 gallons spilling into Lake Merritt.

South of San Francisco, 35,950 gallons of waste was released into the ocean bordering Daily City while upward of 75,000 gallons in neighboring beach communities were inundated with water when their waste plumbing systems failed.

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In all, 15 sewage disasters occurred in a dozen cities, the Mercury News reported. The only solution is upgrades to aging infrastructure, experts say.

“Our old infrastructure is just not going to be up to snuff,” said Sejal Choksi-Chugh of the San Francisco Baykeeper, an environmental nonprofit organization, to the Mercury News. “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 California’s subsequent storm drawback: Uncooked sewage and ocean air pollution appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

San Francisco recorded its hottest day of the year on Wednesday, hitting 85 degrees. Oakland checked in at 87 degrees, above normal but just shy of Sunday’s high of 88.

Those are some of the unusual weather patterns that Bay Area coastal areas have experienced in recent days, with record warm ocean waters leading to more heat and unusual humidity on land.

A marine heat wave that was in the Pacific Northwest has been moving closer to San Francisco over the past few weeks, and the weather buoy at the San Francisco Bar, located just outside the Golden Gate, set a new daily water temperature record of 66.5 degrees Tuesday compared with the previous high of 64.2 degrees since 2007. Buoys in Point Reyes, Bodega Bay and Monterey Bay have also been close to or just over the daily records in recent weeks. 

“We’re at or near record-setting temperatures, but something like an El Niño is just as hot if not hotter,” said Andrew Leising, oceanographer at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center. “It’s a matter of how long it lasts.”

Leising said recent readings have been high only for brief periods, and a cooling phase is coming soon. But, he added, current temperatures are probably comparable to those during “the Blob” in 2015, when a large marine heat wave lingered off the entire West Coast for over a year before the onset of a strong El Niño, which together disrupted the ecosystem and caused problems in the fishing industry. 

What is more remarkable now, Leising said, is that there have been similar small marine heat waves over the past several summers, during non-El Niño years.

“Year after year of this — that’s the part that’s unusual,” he said. “Something different is happening in the system than it has for the past 40 years.”

When warm waters move toward San Francisco, the typical summer fog gets disrupted and the marine layer breaks down. On Wednesday, a crippled marine layer allowed high temperatures along the coast to climb to the 70s and 80s, 10 to 20 degrees above normal, while inland areas were in the 90s, only about 5 degrees above August averages.

This unusually warm water has also kept San Francisco much warmer at night during the past week. Overnight lows have been in the upper 50s to low 60s, above the normal temperature of 55.6 degrees.

That’s unlikely to change much Wednesday night. The National Weather Service said low temperatures in neighborhoods east of Sutro Tower are expected to be in the low 60s, well above average for this time of year.

Not only were temperatures high around the city on Wednesday, but warm ocean temperatures also raised nearby humidity. The Oakland weather balloon Wednesday reported a new daily record dew point, which is a measure of atmospheric moisture.

“A lot of people are noticing it feeling a lot more muggy,” said weather service meteorologist Dalton Behringer. “It’s not unusual that we can have higher dew points this time of year … but we’re kind of in the upper realm of what we would usually see.”

The current coastal warmth is a stark contrast to earlier this summer, when a northwesterly wind pattern kept ocean temperatures and coastal areas much cooler. The weather service predicts a return of northwesterly winds this weekend, which will help cool both water and land temperatures in the short term. However, another bout of warmer water and land temperatures is possible in early September.

Reach Anthony Edwards: Anthony.Edwards@sfchronicle.com. Reach Tara Duggan: tduggan@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @taraduggan

The post Heat ocean water impacted San Francisco’s sizzling climate appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

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.

LATEST Jan 24, 12:23 pm With a northwest swell sending dangerous waves to San Francisco Bay Area beaches Monday, the National Weather Service provided an update on the surf just before noon.

“Swell is up to 8 to 10 feet as period starting to fall below 17 seconds at some buoys,” the weather service wrote on Twitter.

Surfline, a website that provides reports on beach conditions for surfers, reported waves of 10 to 15 feet at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, 10 to 15 feet at Mavericks in Half Moon Bay, 5 to 7 feet at Pacifica and 6 to 10 feet at Steamer Lane in Santa Cruz.

Naval Update

Swell is up to 8 to 10 feet as period starting to fall below 17 seconds at some buoys.

According to the webcams on @surfline breaking waves are

Ocean Beach: 10-15 feet
Mavericks: 12-15 feet
Pacifica: 5-7 feet
Santa Cruz/Steamer Lane: 6-10 feet#CAbeaches

— NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) January 24, 2022

Jan 24, 8:10 am The National Weather Service warned of dangerous rip currents and sneaker waves through Monday afternoon with a northwest swell building off the central coast of California.

The weather service explained that the ocean could appear “deceptively calm with long lulls between large waves capable of knocking unsuspecting beach-goers off coastal rocks, outcroppings, and into the cold, restless ocean.”

A beach hazards statement alerting the public of an increased risk of sneaker waves and rip currents is in effect from Sonoma County to Monterey County through 1 pm Monday. The highest risk is at northwest-facing beaches including Ocean Beach, Montara State Beach, Marina State Beach and Monastery Beach.

The weather service warned the public to stay off coastal jetties, keep their eyes on children and pets and never turn their backs to the ocean.

Rip currents can pull swimmers and surfers out to sea.

The post 15-foot waves reported at San Francisco’s Ocean Seashore appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis presents Dr. Sylvia Earle the award

Mike Gallagher receives Blue Marble Award

Lt Governor Kounalakis & Former Prime Minister of Greece Mr. George Papandreou at Blue Marble Event

Lt. California Governor Eleni Kounalakis presents the BLUE MARBLE AWARD to legendary marine scientist Dr. Sylvia Earle

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES, June 10, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ – The Bay Ecotarium and its seven branches, including the Bay Institute, the Aquarium of the Bay, Sea., Celebrate 40 years of environmental stewardship, California’s environmental policy Lion Center, Studio Aqua, Bay Academy, Bay Model and Eco Expeditions welcomed former Greek Prime Minister His Excellency George Papandreou and Lieutenant Governor of California Eleni Kounalakis to an outdoor blue carpet event at the Hayes Mansion in San Jose.

“It is time for nations to unite for a green democracy and tackle climate crises,” said former Greek Prime Minister, SE George Papandreou, in his opening address to over 160 CEOs and executives gathered in Silicon Valley.

“We are delighted with the commitment of this White House to combat climate change with concrete steps and decisive political changes. The Bay Ecotarium will offer a unique platform to stimulate generation change. 75 years ago, San Francisco produced the United Nations that changed the world and it is time to bring United Nature to life, ”said George Jacob FRCGS, President and CEO.

The legendary ocean researcher Dr. Sylvia Earle received a standing ovation for her lifelong contribution to sustainable oceans. “I hope you can take something away from this evening, the realization that right now we have the opportunity to turn away from what we experienced during this period of decline in the Anthropocene. We have the opportunity to transform this from decline into relaxation and to make peace with nature, with the sea, with the planet and maybe even with each other, ”said Sylvia in her moving acceptance speech when she received the award from Lt. Governor Kounalakis accepted. “Thank you George Jacob for creating this vision, building on this idea – which was already a good idea – making a big difference in this part of the world and educating people who stumbled upon and got away from this great place at Pier 39. It’s a great place to be are “enlightened ….”

“We really have an American icon here – a pioneer in every way. Sylvia, thank you for being here with us – for joining us, for supporting this incredibly important project and for getting up every day and being our bravest fighter in our fight against climate change and the fight to protect our oceans! “Said Eleni Kounalakis, Lieutenant Governor of California, when she met Dr. Earle presented the Blue Marble Award 2021.

The event also honored Michael Gallagher, Founding Director of Under Water World 25 years ago, with a moving tribute to his brother Patrick Gallagher, chaired by Caroline Beteta, CEO of Visit California and Roger Dow, President & CEO of US Travel.

Vicki de Witt
Bay.org
+ 14156030526
email us here

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