Why this matters
The spill is one of several sewage system failures in recent years brought on by the increasing intensity of weather events affecting San Diego County’s 3 million residents.
The city of Oceanside has agreed to pay $1.5 million for illegally discharging almost 2 million gallons of sewage during what water regulators called a record-breaking storm in April 2020 that overwhelmed a sewage lift station and a water reclamation facility.
The city released the sewage into several creeks, one of which flows into the Buena Vista Lagoon, a wildlife refuge home to a number of endangered species, eventually reaching the Pacific Ocean. The spill affected waters also used for recreational and fishing purposes.
The fine is part of a settlement with the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board.
The spill is one of several sewage system failures brought on by the increasing intensity of weather events affecting the region more broadly.
“We’re going to see more of these rain events,” said Celeste Cantú, chair of the water board, at the agency’s meeting Wednesday. “We can use what you’ve learned from this experience to help other wastewater treatment facilities either to be prepared or to better plan ahead.”
The storm that flooded Oceanside’s sewer system brought over 5 inches of rain, also flooding and closing both sides of U.S. Highway 78. At the time the storm hit, the San Luis Rey Water Reclamation Facility was undergoing renovations required to accommodate San Diego County’s first reclaimed potable water project.
The Buena Vista Lift Station, a pump that manages daily sewage flows, was downed by sewage that drowned its electrical system.
“This spill was caused due to the exceptional intensity of the rainfall that we’ve experienced and our staff took all actions to minimize that spill and redirect water,” said Oceanside’s Water Utilities Director Lindsay Leahy at the meeting.
City officials said that their infrastructure was not meant to handle such a storm, and that partly to blame for the flooding was the build up of plant growth in the Buena Vista Creek, which is not under their jurisdiction but within the city of Carlsbad.
Since the spill, city officials have supported a project to clear foliage from the Buena Vista Creek basin. Leahy says that among the fixes they implemented was to raise the electrical equipment above the water line left by the 2020 storm.
Water board officials warn that aging infrastructure and intensifying storms are posing an increasing threat to our water bodies and in turn the health of both the public and the environment.
“Rain and sewage are kind of playing out to be a perfect storm,” said Chiara Clemente, a senior environmental scientist at the regional water board, after the meeting.
Oceanside officials say that since the spill they have been focusing on how to prepare for the future.
“We are taking into consideration climate change and other storm events as part of our planning for utility,” Leahy said. She also said they are considering the impacts of rising sea levels as well.
Natalie Shapiro, the executive director of the Buena Vista Audubon Society, said that the confluence of increasing storm intensity, daily urban and agricultural runoff and aging infrastructure is concerning for the ecosystem of the Buena Vista Lagoon Ecological Reserve.
She said the wetlands are a crucial habitat for many birds and fish and that they are on the frontline of impacts from spills as well as from rising sea levels. They are also exceptional at sequestering carbon, and that’s one reason wetland restoration is a part of Oceanside’s own protection program.
The excess nutrients brought on by spills and exacerbated by weather events absorb the oxygen in the water and suffocate fish populations, which in turn disturbs the ecosystem at large. The lagoon is home to endangered species such as the Least Bell’s Vireo.
“Our lagoons and oceans are great at dealing with the impacts from whether it’s sewage spills or greenhouse gases or urban runoff, but there’s a point where it’s just too much for them. We’re getting close to that,” Shapiro said.
The funds from the settlement will go to the state water board’s cleanup and abatement account to fund cleanups in cases in which there are no identified responsible parties.
Editor’s note, 12:30 p.m. Nov. 15: This story was updated to include the month during which the storm occurred.
Type of Content
News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
