News release City of Coos Bay. Late this morning (Monday, July 25, 2016), the City of Coos Bay experienced a Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO). The overflow was caused by a hatch that was not secured on the City’s tanker truck. The tanker truck was transferring raw sludge (a bi-product of wastewater treatment) from the wastewater treatment plant in Empire to the wastewater treatment plant located at 680 Ivy Street. The spill occurred when the sludge escaped form the hatch at the 600 block of Newmark Avenue (between Wall and Wasson Street). The driver observed it immediately, stopped the truck, secured the hatch, and called the collection crew. The collection crew cleaned up the sludge and it never entered the receiving waters. The SSO totaled 30 gallons, and it was reported to Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Oregon Emergency Response System, and Oregon Department of Agriculture. Any questions can be directed to the City of Coos Bay Public Works Department at 541-269-8918.
