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Winter Storm Brings Sewage Spills To Sonoma County

SANTA ROSA (KCBS) _ Heavy rainfall in the North Bay flooded sewage pipes in several areas of southern Sonoma County on Tuesday night.

Almost two-inches of rain fell in an eight-hour period in the region and the torrent sent wastewater through manhole covers in the southern part of the county.

"The good news in all of this is that there was so much rainfall, that the amount of wastewater that was released was quickly diluted and our biologists don't see any potential effect to the environment," said Brad Sherwood of the Sonoma County Water Agency.

KCBS' Dave Padilla Reports:

Sherwood estimates that more than 28,000 gallons of wastewater spilled into the streets during the storm. He said no one is letting their guard down.

"It looks like we have another storm system coming in this weekend and potentially through the week," he said. "We will continue to monitor our wastewater system day and night."

Meanwhile, officials continue to investigate a recent problem at the Ross Valley Sanitary District in Marin County, where a Larkspur sewage pipe released nearly two million gallons of raw sewage over several days. District officials said they will not comment until the investigation is complete.

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