Creek gets all-clear after spill

It's safe again to splash in Indian Ford Creek.

The creek waters have tested safe after a sewage spill at Black Butte Ranch July 29. The ranch tested the creek at several locations for a week before the Department of Environmental Quality authorized removal of signs warning people to stay out of the creek.

According to Black Butte Ranch utilities manager Lynn Lounsbury, tests at the ranch showed an unsafe level of fecal chloroform in the creek only on the first day of the spill. The creek never tested unsafe at Indian Ford Campground or farther downstream, Lounsbury reported.

The 70,000-gallon spill was caused when the pumps that boost effluent along the ranch's gravity system shut down in a brief power outage. The pumps, which must be manually reset, shut down to prevent burnout; utility crews were unaware of the outage and did not know the lifting station had backed up for several hours.

Lounsbury told The Nugget that the ranch plans to purchase a telemetry system to alert utility personnel of high levels in the lifting stations.

"We're just waiting for final bids," Lounsbury said.

In addition, Central Electric Cooperative will alert the utilities department when there is any power outage so crews can check the pumps.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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