SITE INFORMATION AND CORRESPONDENCE

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City of Escalon 2 24 September 2014 San Joaquin County ' system is a violation of Discharge Specification B. 11 of Order 5-00-142, which states, "Pond freeboard shall never be less than two feet in any pond as measured vertically from the water surface to the upper surface of the lowest adjacent dike or levee." Therefore, wastewater flows must be reduced immediately. • Freeboard in domestic wastewater ponds 17-20 was less than two feet. Failure to maintain two feet of freeboard within the wastewater pond system is a violation of Discharge Specification B. 11 of Order 5-00-142, which states, "Pond freeboard shall never be less than two feet in any pond as measured vertically from the water surface to the upper surface of the lowest adjacent dike or levee." Therefore, wastewater flows must be reduced immediately. • Numerous rodent holes were observed throughout wastewater pond berm system. This is a concern because rodent holes provide a preferential pathway for the movement of water within the pond berms, compromise berm stability and could lead to violations of Prohibition A.2 of Order 5-00-142, which states, "Bypass or overflow of untreated or partially treated waste is prohibited." Therefore, the rodent holes must be repaired immediately. • A large mass of floating algae (Figure 7) was observed in the south corner of ponds 14 and 15. Putrid odors were observed in the vicinity of the ponds. The odors are a violation of Discharge Specification B.8 of Order 5-00-142, which states, "The discharge to conveyance systems, settling basins, ponds, or land disposal areas not adequately maintained to prevent off-site odor nuisance, fly breeding or mosquito breeding is prohibited." Therefore, the odors must be controlled immediately. Inspection summary: The WWTF is not adequately maintained and is in violation of Order 5-00-142. Significant capacity issues at the facility threaten the integrity of the wastewater pond berm system and water quality in the Stanislaus River, which is adjacent to wastewater ponds 10, 11 and 12. Regional Board staff informed the City and contract wastewater operators that the facility is in violation of Order 5-00-142 and immediate action should be taken to reduce influent flows to the WWTF to restore freeboard in the wastewater ponds. To evaluate progress, staff requested daily updates regarding pond freeboard and influent flows. Staff also recommended that the berm separating ponds 10, 11 and 12 from the Stanislaus River be monitored daily for seepage. Spill to Stanislaus River: At approximately 2:20 pm on 17 September 2014, Tom McCoy informed Regional Board staff by telephone that water was observed seeping out of a rodent hole in the berm separating industrial wastewater pond 12 and the Stanislaus River. Mr. McCoy stated that the City was placing dirt in the area in an attempt to stop the seepage. Staff requested that Mr. McCoy report the spill to the California Emergency Management Agency, San Joaquin Environmental Health Department, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The spill report filed with the California Emergency Management Agency estimated that less than 500 gallons of industrial wastewater had discharged to the river. At approximately 5:30 p.m. Mr. McCoy contacted staff and stated that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife was on-site investigating the situation and that the City had