Study of leaking sewage lines ordered

Tariq Malik

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- Public Works Director Robert Beardsley, in the

face of allegations that the city failed to report broken pipes to state

water officials, said researchers will study whether leaky the sewer

lines have spread contaminants under the Downtown area.

During the Dec. 18 City Council meeting, the city is expected to award

a $92,000 contract to fund the study, Beardsley said, adding that City

Atty. Gail Hutton is reviewing whether the city had an obligation to

report sewage leaks below Downtown, first spotted four years ago, to the

California Regional Water Board.

The confusion, he added, lies in the fact that its debatable whether

to call the sewage leak a spill, since it resulted in seepage from pipes

in an area with nonpotable water. The nearest drinking water wells are

located two miles away and upstream from the area.

The state water agency issued a cleanup and abatement order to the

city Tuesday, which requires the city-run study completed by Feb. 7.

“We’re concerned of whether sewage that has leaked from pipes into the

groundwater table, contaminated land, or could possibly flow into the

ocean,” said Kurt Berchtold, assistant executive officer of the Santa Ana

Regional Water Quality Control Board, the local chapter of the state

water agency.

That area, he added, was not studied thoroughly during last year’s

search for the source of bacteria contaminating beach waters, in which

sewage leaks were dismissed as a possible cause, and could play a part if

water tainted with sewage managed to migrate to ocean shores.

The board has studied the city’s water system for the last few months,

after being contacted about a possible problem over the summer, board

officials said.

Last September, the city met with board representatives to discuss the

Downtown sewer conditions, though Beardsley said reparations were already

underway by that point, and he had already begun the process to launch

the research study on his own before this week’s order was issued.

“We have completed slip-line repairs of all six miles of sewer pipes

under Downtown,” he said, adding it includes installing a fabric and

epoxy material into broken pipes, and heating them until it hardens into

plastic. “This whole process began in 1996, when the problem was first

brought to the City Council’s attention.”

Four years ago, a video study of the six miles of sewer pipes running

underneath Downtown found them severely deteriorated, leaking sewage into

the surrounding earth at a rate of about 71,374 gallons each day, board

officials said. More than 6.5 million gallons of sewage is estimated lost

from pipes, they added.

Those pipes, city officials said, are 90 years old and made out of

clay. While the council members were aware of the need to repair them,

the city still had to recover from the county bankruptcy and efforts to

begin a large-scale, slip-lining project that began in 1997.

“I can certainly see the confusion,” Councilwoman Connie Boardman

said, on whether the city should have reported the leaks. “But it will be

interesting to find out what the research study finds ... whether the

sewage is still there or decomposed.”

While other council members have admitted putting off repairs four

years ago may have been a mistake they must now own up to, some activists

see this as an example of poor leadership.

“Our politicians are supposed to represent us and tell us when we have

spills,” said Joey Racano, an unsuccessful candidate for City Council who

has frequently spoken out against sewage in the ocean. “Frankly, I’m

disappointed . . . but people realize in times like this how important

sewer pipes are.”