ESCONDIDO — The City Council ratified a local emergency declaration on April 30, expediting repairs to a leak in a city-owned sewage pipeline after seepage was reported coming from the ground near the San Elijo Lagoon Nature Center in Cardiff.
On April 16, staff from the San Elijo Joint Powers Authority and the county’s Parks and Recreation Department notified Escondido utility staff that partially treated wastewater was surfacing near the city’s land outfall system at the lagoon’s northern end.
The city of Escondido owns a 14-mile land outfall pipeline that takes partially treated wastewater from its Hale Avenue Resource Recovery Facility to the San Elijo Joint Powers Authority’s ocean outfall, located west of Interstate 5 and south of Manchester Avenue in Cardiff, for the final phase of treatment before releasing the water into the ocean.
Wastewater is treated through three stages: the primary stage, which removes 60% of solids; the secondary stage, which removes 85% of organic matter from sewage through bacterial decomposition; and finally, the tertiary stage, which removes any filterable solids from wastewater before it is discharged.
According to the city, staff responded immediately to assess the situation and confirmed the land outfall was leaking through laboratory test results that matched the seeping water wastewater from Escondido.
The seeping wastewater is currently confined near the nature center’s Manchester entrance. According to staff, the wastewater has not leaked and is not anticipated to leak into the lagoon.
Interim Director of Utilities Angela Morrow said approximately 13 million gallons of wastewater travel through the land outfall daily. She noted the source of the leak was likely a failure in a joint on the pipeline.
Staff was concerned that if repairs weren’t made quickly, a “catastrophic failure” could occur.
Escondido City Manager Sean McGlynn proclaimed a local emergency on April 25, which allowed the city to enter into a bid with a contractor who could fix the leak as quickly as possible. Five days later, the City Council approved the decision.
CCL Contracting, Inc. was hired to repair the land outfall.
The city will use up to $1.7 million in wastewater reserve funds to pay for the project.
As repairs are made, Escondido utility staff are continuing to coordinate with SEJPA, San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Diego Gas & Electric, Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Fish and Wildlife, the lagoon’s nature center, county of San Diego and city of Encinitas, where the nature center is located.
“The proposed construction method will minimize impacts on the residents of the city of Encinitas, the San Elijo Nature Center, and the public,” a staff report states.
The Regional Board required the city of Escondido to prepare and submit a report of non-compliance with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit violation for the leak.
Utility staff will also perform a pre-disturbance damage assessment of the affected area due to the leak within the nature center’s boundaries and the proposed construction associated with repairs to the land outfall. Water samples continue to be collected throughout the process.
The HARRF system in Escondido will remain fully operational throughout construction while minimizing environmental impacts, according to staff.
