The City of Coos Bay has contracted with Pacific Excavation to upgrade the pump station located at 400 Kruse Avenue. To perform upgrades to a pump station, the sanitary sewer that normally is conveyed to the pump station must be bypassed around the pump station. The bypass pump was set up at the intersection of Kruse Avenue and S. Fifth Street. Wednesday night, the contractor’s bypass pump could not keep up with incoming flow, which led to surcharging the main lines. Flow backed up and sanitary sewer spilled onto the street through a manhole located at 1220 Dakota Avenue and ultimately to the storm drain system which discharges to Coal Bank Slough. The contractor increased the pump speed and stopped the spill. It is estimated that approximately 9,000 gallons were spilled. Because the sewer was released at a location that was not permitted, the Department of Environmental Quality requires this event to be classified as a Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO) and the Oregon Emergency Response System to be notified. Any questions can be directed to the City of Coos Bay Public Works Department at 541-269-8918.
