The Sunnyvale Sun

News

Sewage Spills

Normally not on the public's radar, the crumbling infrastructure of sewage treatment has received increased attention in recent months since a 5-million-gallon spill in Mill Valley in January.

Shortly after, the nonprofit environmental group Baykeeper filed suit against the city of Burlingame, alleging that it has failing infrastructure and kicking off its Sick of Sewage campaign.

Sejal Choksi, a Baykeeper director, said the nonprofit group is investigating other cities.

"We've found that often there are discrepancies between cities' own records and reports that they make" to the state Regional Water Quality Control Board, she said in February.

She declined to say which cities would be investigated.

"That just kind of gives everybody a heads up on our litigation strategy."

A RWQCB database that tracks sewage spills--there were several in Cupertino and Sunnyvale between December 2004 and May 2007--does not include the plants.

San Jose reported a 4,500-gallon spill on March 25, but it was inside the plant and cleaned up. Each plant reported several spills in 2006 and 2007.

Visit www.swrcb.ca.gov /rwqcb2 for more information from the water boards.

--Cody Kraatz

If you're interested:

To tour the San Jose-Santa Clara plant or for more information, visit www.sanjoseca.gov/ esd, e-mail carolina.camarena@sanjoseca.gov or call 408.975.2551.

To tour the Sunnyvale plant or for more information, visit publicworks.insunnyvale.com and click on Water Pollution Control Plant, call 408.730.7717 or e-mail wpcp@ci.sunnyvale.ca.us.