More than 275,000 gallons of sewage spilled last week from a Sonoma County wastewater treatment plant, and some of it flowed into the Russian River, water district officials said Thursday.
The spill of "secondary treated wastewater" started late Friday evening from the Russian River County Sanitation District Treatment Plant and continued into early Saturday, officials with Sonoma Water said.
The cause of the spill is believed to be storm-related, officials said.
Sonoma Water estimated about 275,000 gallons of sewage spilled within the treatment plant property, and part of the spill was contained onsite. But some of the spill traveled about a third of a mile through a forested area before reaching the mainstem of the Russian River, officials said.
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Sonoma Water notified the required regulatory agencies, and environmental specialists were sent to the site to assess impacts. They saw no effects on aquatic or terrestrial life.
The Russian River County Sanitation District said it serves 3,214 homes within a 2,700-acre service area.
