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Photograph by Paul Myers
Saratoga Creek flows under Herriman Drive, northeast of the Village. Several septic systems still operate on creek-front property just above and below this point, where water tests in May showed unsafe levels of fecal coliform bacteria.
Council ponders expanding efforts to remove septic tanks along creek
By Oakley Brooks
City and local water authorities continue to work diligently to clean up Saratoga Creek, but May test results show it is still far from swimmable.
To reach that goal, the city council is now considering broadening pollution control methods and sewer laws along the creek.
Current law requires certain homeowners throughout the city to redirect their sewer from a septic system to the available public sewer lines. Since the law was enacted two years ago, scores of homes have connected to the sewer lines.
Faulty sewer lines--also sources of pollution--have been repaired at several locations around the city
Harmful bacteria, however, continue to lurk in Saratoga Creek, and city officials and citizens working to clean up the stream suspect that creek-area residents still operating septic systems--either exempt from or noncompliant with the sewer ordinance--may be to blame.
Those close to the cleanup project think sewage is leaching out of the tanks and ending up in the creek.
"If you modify the ordinance, I would urge you to concentrate on septic systems near the creek," said Don Whetstone, president of the Friends of Santa Clara County Creeks, told the city council on June 6. Whetstone and the Friends were part of a lawsuit settlement with the city two years ago that began an extensive water monitoring and sewer repair project.
Public Works Director John Cherbone and city council recently agreed to focus efforts on some 10 properties still legally operating septic systems near the creek and downhill from the main sewer lines.
Because of the added costs of pumping sewage uphill to the main lines, those properties--along with parcels 200 feet or more from the sewer line, or with no legal right of way to the line-- are not required by the 1999 law to abandon septic systems.
City officials now want to encourage those 10 or so exempt property owners to hook up to the municipal sewer lines, through dialogue and possible funding from the annual Community Development Block Grants the city receives from the county.
"We should try to get cooperation on septic systems near the creek," said Councilman Evan Baker.
Some property owners operate non-exempt septic systems and haven't switched over to sewer lines as the law requires. Cherbone says untold numbers of these septic systems could be polluting water in the creek.
The city sent out notices to 67 of these noncompliant residents on May 25, giving them 20 days to reply, or face a lien on their property. Under those restrictions, owners would not be able to put additions on their homes or sell their property, until they made the sewer improvements.
The city is also considering ways to make sure "laterals"--extensions that connect houses to the main sewer line--are leaking sewage into ground water. Cherbone told the council these individual lines should perform up to minimum standards and he urged council members to require tests of the lines after the sale of an individual house.
Several council members supported the idea of legislation to support Cherbone's recommendation.
Expanded water quality efforts come after the most recent water tests showed Saratoga Creek's fecal coliform bacteria levels to be four times the acceptable EPA level at Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road. Levels of the bacteria, which comes from the intestines of mammals, also remained well above EPA standards at Herriman Avenue and at Congress Springs Park.
Relatively clean water samples taken above Saratoga Village confirm that almost all of the pollution of the creek comes from human waste, and not that of wild animals.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
