Sewage spills into Sonoma Creek

Heavy weekend rains caused a sewage system to overflow in the Sonoma Valley and spill thousands of gallons of rainwater and sewage into Sonoma Creek.

The spills occurred between 10:45 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. Sunday in Boyes Hot Springs and Fetters Hot Springs, said Tim Anderson, a spokesman for the Sonoma County Water Agency.

He said rain seeps into the ground and into cracks in old, clay sewage pipes that serve homes and businesses in that area.

The increased pressure in the pipes lifted manhole covers, out of which flowed a mixture of rainwater and sewage, Anderson said.

That flow then entered the district’s storm drains that flow into Sonoma Creek.

“This is a problem we have been having with the old sewage collection system,” Anderson said. “We have had a series of these spills over the years. This was not out of the ordinary.”

The amount that flowed out was estimated to be 40,000 to 60,000 gallons, Anderson said.

The problems occurred at Bockman Place and Happy Lane in Boyes Hot Springs and at the Rancho Vista Mobile Home Park in Fetters Hot Springs.

The spills were reported to the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Board.

You can reach Staff Writer Bob Norberg at bob.norberg@pressdemocrat.com.