Aug 26, 2008 3:25 pm US/Pacific
Ferry Sewage Spill Closes Marin Shore
LARKSPUR (CBS 5/KCBS/BCN) ―
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A ferry boat nears Marin on its way from San Francisco.
CBS
Signs posted along the Larkspur shoreline warn people to stay out of the water after yet another sewage spill in Marin.
Sewage from two Golden Gate ferries leaked through a broken pipe into the water near the Larkspur Ferry Terminal Monday morning, according to the Marin County Environmental Health Services.
It is unclear exactly how much sewage spilled, but Environmental Health Services director Phil Smith said the maximum amount is 1,000 gallons, the total capacity of the two tanks on board the ferries.
Environmental Health Services tested the water Monday and put up warning signs advising swimmers, sport fishermen and other recreational water users to avoid the area for a half-mile on either side of the ferry terminal.
However, Smith said Tuesday the water meets state standards for recreational water contact.
Smith said the samples were taken from near the vessel dock adjacent to where the spill occurred; San Quentin Beach; and upstream at the Marin Rowing Association in Greenbrae.
More tests were taken Tuesday morning and the results should be available by noon Wednesday, Smith said.
The spill occurred along a pipe at the dock through which sewage is pumped from the ferries to the sanitary district, Smith said.
Environmental Health Services was informed of the spill at around 9:45 a.m. Monday, Smith said.
James Swindler, deputy general manager of the Golden Gate Ferry Division, did not immediately return calls for comment Tuesday.
New regulations and fines were put in place after 2.7 million gallons spilled into Richardson Bay at the beginning of the year, said Lila Tang of the California Regional Water Board.
Tang said the fines had spurred water districts to examine their systems to try and prevent a similar spill. There have been at least a half dozen sewage spills in the North Bay so far in 2008.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)
Environment & The Green Beat
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