Laserfiche WebLink
CALIFORNIA REGIONAL WATER QUALITY CONTROL BOARD <br /> CENTRAL VALLEY REGION <br /> ORDER NO. 85-268 <br /> REQUIRING THE CITY OF STOCKTON, SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY <br /> TO PAY ADMINISTRATIVE CIVIL LIABILITY <br /> FOR VIOLATIONS OF <br /> BOARD ORDER NO. 80-116 <br /> The California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Region, <br /> (hereafter Board) finds, with respect to the City of Stockton's acts or failures <br /> to act, the following: <br /> 1. On eight occasions, from 3 June through 17 June 1985, the City discharged <br /> effluent with total coliform counts in violation of the daily maximum <br /> effluent limitations of 500 MPN/100 ml . <br /> 2. On 17, 18, 19, and 20 June 1985, the City discharged a total of approxi- <br /> mately 110 million gallons of effluent with pH values from 3.1 to 5.9, in <br /> violation of the effluent limitation of a minimum of 6.0. <br /> 3. On 19 and 20 June 1985 the City discharged a total of approximately 25 <br /> million gallons of effluent, with residual chlorine concentrations of up to <br /> 10.5 ppm, in violation of the effluent limitation of 0.02 ppm. <br /> 4. The discharge of chlorine and low pH waste caused the death of approxi- <br /> mately 5,000 fish in the San Joaquin River, according to the Department of <br /> Fish and Game. <br /> 5. The City was aware of the violations described in Items 2, 3 and 4 at the <br /> time of the discharge and could have prevented the discharge to the San <br /> Joaquin River. The City had ample storage capacity in on-site ponds <br /> available at the time. <br /> 6. The City did not have sufficient capacity at the time to remove excess <br /> chlorine from plant effluent prior to its discharge on 19 and 20 June. <br /> Adequate dechlorination facilities would have prevented residual chlorine <br /> violations and may have prevented the fish kill . <br /> 7. The City created the conditions of high residual chlorine and low pH in its <br /> effluent by increasing the chlorine feed to the effluent in an attempt to <br /> achieve proper disinfection. The City knew that it was violating the <br /> chlorine effluent limitation within two hours, but allowed the discharge to <br /> continue for 24 hours. <br /> 8. On 19 and 20 June the City' s effluent made up about two-thirds of the <br /> entire river flow. The City should have known of the low flow conditions <br /> in the San Joaquin River at the time. <br />