Saturday sewage spill caused by grease, runoff kept from storm drains
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
Published: January 25, 2013
Saturday’s sewage spill was kept from storm drains leading to the Santa Clara River - an event caused by clogged grease, according to Interim Public Works Director Brian Yanez.
The January 19 incident, Yanez said, occurred in the main sewer line. It took city and contract crews about three hours to clean up the spill after a manhole at 10th Street and East Harvard Boulevard - the city’s busiest intersection - overflowed, leading to numerous calls to Santa Paula Police.
The incident was reported at approximately 1:25 p.m. and Santa Paula Fire responded, finding a steady flow of sewage running out of the access hole of the manhole cover. Although a small amount of sewage was running in the gutter south of Harvard Boulevard, public works and fire personnel created a dam surrounding the spill and, using sandbags, were able to divert runoff from storm drains leading to the Santa Clara River.
Yanez said the spill was estimated at 250 gallons of sewage. The cause, he added, was “grease” and the Ventura Regional Sanitation District assisted with “cleaning the line... our city street staff were first responders and did an excellent job containing the spill and not allowing it to enter the storm drain.”
Santa Paula Police and Citizens Patrol worked on diverting and detouring traffic until about 4:40 p.m.
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