The sheriff's office of Marin County, Calif., has warned residents to avoid swimming, recreational water use and fishing around the site of recent Sewerage Agency of Southern Marin 2.7-million gal partially treated sewage and storm water spill. Water quality testing continues in the surrounding area.
Contamination levels in Richardson Bay exceed state safety standards, according to preliminary testing results. There are no signs that the contamination extends beyond the bay or that San Francisco beaches have been affected, according to county officials.
The Bay Front Office Park site, upstream from the spill location, yielded the most highly contaminated sample. Recent rainfall may have pushed the sewage-contaminated water upstream, officials said. The Shelter Bay Mill Valley site, which sits downstream from the spill site, showed slightly elevated contamination levels, while the Schoonmaker Beach and Dunphy Park sample sites met the state standard for water recreation.
"The tests will continue for several days until these waters are stabilized and we can get the base level," said Lt. Dog Pittman, spokeswoman for the Marin County Office of Emergency Services. "We are being extremely cautious and assuming" that the sewage spill has contributed significantly to the Bay Front Office Park pollution problem.
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
