Failure at South Bay pump station causes sewage spill
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A pressure relief valve at a South Bay pump station built to capture sewage flowing over from Mexico failed Monday morning, letting over 300,000 gallons of wastewater spill into the surrounding area.
According to the International Boundary and Water Commission, the leaking at the Hollister Street Pumping Station began just after midnight on Monday and continued until 4:45 a.m. An estimated 302,000 gallons spilled with city of San Diego crews recovering 48,000 gallons.
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Shortly after however, the spillage resumed due to flows from nearby sewage collection stations that were not immediately paused while the issue was addressed, area operations manager for IBWC’s San Diego Field Office Morgan Rogers said.
Both neighboring collection sites at Goats Canyon and Smugglers Gulch have since been paused, Rogers added. The pumping station has also been taken out of operation until the surge tank can be cleaned and the malfunctioning pressure relief valve can be replaced.
The valve failure comes less than six months after a new pump and motor was installed at the station, replacing parts that were significantly damaged from Topical Storm Hilary. Equipment issues during the storm caused more than 20,000 gallons of sewage to spill.
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At the time of the new pump’s addition, IBWC officials said they also replaced three of the four existing pumps to “provide added redundancy to the other pumps and more reliable operation of the Hollister pump station should one of the other pumps become inoperable.”
It is unclear whether the pressure valve issue had any impact on the new equipment installed at the station last year.
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