By Neil Farrell ~
It might be brand new but the Los Osos sewer collection system has already hit its first hiccup, after someone dumped loads of raw sewage into the lines causing problems at some of the lift stations.
A reader, who asked not to be identified, pointed this out and some other issues that residents should be aware of and to be on the lookout for, so an “unscrupulous contractor doesn’t scam them.”
According to the source, some “septic tank pumpers are pumping the tanks and then illegally dumping the sludge into the new sewer pipeline. This thick sludge is wreaking havoc on the collection lines and clogging up the lift stations.”
With just a few hundred of the eventual 4,700 lateral hook ups completed thus far (since March 28), there really isn’t a lot of sewage flowing through the pipes, though the treatment plant is receiving about 1,200 gallons a day.
Dumping thick septage into lines that don’t have enough “fluidity” or water mixed in with it becomes problematic with a gravity-fed system.
John Waddell, the County’s project manager, confirmed the illegal dumping in an email dated April 18. “Yes, we found some septage from septic tanks in the collection system last week,” Waddell said. “This is not allowed and all the contractors know this. We had to hire our own pumper to clean out the lift stations.” Waddell said they are pumping out lift stations a couple of times a week.
All of the some 99 contractors, who were vetted by the County to work on the lateral hook ups, have special requirements for the thick goo.
“The septage needs to be pumped from the tanks into a truck and hauled to a licensed receiver,” said Waddell. “The closest one is in Santa Maria.” That’s also where the new treatment plant plans to haul its sludge for final disposal. It will also have to truck to a landfill all the things people flush down the toilet and are screened out of the waste stream — plastics, paper, tampons, etc… — before the resulting “black water” is treated and eventually recycled.
Waddell said at this point with so few hook ups, the plant is unable to handle the septage. “Once we are up and running at full capacity, we can accept the septage from the rest of the Los Osos homes that are not connected to the sewer,” he said.
They don’t know if it is one pumper or several who have dumped into the system. “We are investigating the incident,” Waddell said, “to try to identify the culprit and closely monitoring the system to see if it happens again.”
In a more personal issue, the source noted that residents need to be vigilant in terms of permits, inspections and contracts for the decommissioning of their septics.
At the treatment plant grand opening, held April 22, Waddell said the County is working diligently to keep up with inspections and the paperwork. But residents should make sure the County has signed off on their job before fully paying the contractor.
“They may think they are finished but it could be a year before the county contacts them and would need proof that the job was done and done right,” said the source. Permits for the hook ups are good for a year once they are pulled but if someone has already paid in full and did not receive a certificate of completion from the County, they could contact the Contractors State Licensing Board’s Division of Consumer Affairs, said the source.
And in another tip for residents, a contractor may not ask for more than 10-percent down on the total contract amount, said the source. “The final balance should not be paid until the County certifies that the project is accepted and complete.”
