EBMUD: outage leads to 50,000 gallons of wastewater discharged into Oakland Estuary
The Oakland Estuary is seen in this photo, near KTVU's Studios in Jack London Square, on the morning of Saturday, August 15, 2020. EBMUD operates a discharge line into the Estuary, located at the end of Alice St.
OAKLAND, Calif. - Friday's statewide power outages led to 50,000 gallons of wastewater being discharged into the Oakland Estuary early Saturday morning, according to the East Bay Municipal Utility District.
EBMUD officials are also advising people, and pets, to stay out of the water
Signs to warn the public of the discharge have been posted along the estuary.
The outage was part of the rolling outages ordered by the California Indepedent Systerm Operator Friday evening, due to the high electrical demand across the state.
The Oakland Estuary is seen in this photo, near KTVU's Studios in Jack London Square, on the morning of Saturday, August 15, 2020. EBMUD operates a discharge line into the Estuary, located at the end of Alice St.
"Between 5:10 a.m. to 6:50 p.m., power went out at the main wastewater treatment plant at the foot of the Bay Bridge," said EBMUD Senior Public Information Representative, Andrea Pook. "The outage caused major equiipment failure at the wastewater plant, including the ability for EBMUD to generate its own power on site."
EBMUD said the outage also led to major flooding at the pump station that transports sewage from the East Bay, located near the base of the Bay Bridge, on the Oakland side.
Repair crews worked overnight to restore pumping capacity at the facility, along with restoring excess flow in the storage basins, Pook told KTVU.
But the flows exceeded storage capacity, and subsequently, raw sewage was released into the estuary from the discharge point at the foot of Alice Street and Embarcadero.
The Oakland Estuary is seen in this photo, near KTVU's Studios in Jack London Square, on the morning of Saturday, August 15, 2020. EBMUD operates a discharge line into the Estuary, located at the end of Alice St.
The discharge resumed at 4:07 a.m., but eventually stopped.
Among the liquids discharged were disinfected and dechlorinated sewage, as well as partially treated wastewater from its San Antonio Creek Wet Weather Facility. This was done "to minimize the volume of raw sewage that would otherwise have been discharged," said Pook.
This release occured west of the Jack London Aquatic Center, a popular destination for aquatics on the estuary.
EBMUD notified regulatory agencies about the incident, along with local groups, such as the Baykeeper, Oakland Strokes Rowing Club, and California Canoe & Kayak at Jack London Square.
The utility district says it is investigating this incident, and plans to have a full report within a week.