Repairs are under way on a stretch of Auburn Ravine Road damaged Monday after sewage spilled from a broken 12-inch sewer line located under the roadway.
Temporary asphalt is being laid this afternoon on Auburn Ravine Road between Dairy and Marguerite Mine roads. The temporary repairs will allow the road to be reopened by 7 p.m. Tuesday and stay open until approximately 7 a.m. Wednesday.
An 8-inch layer of permanent asphalt will be laid beginning Wednesday morning. The Auburn City Public Works Department and Placer County Facility Services Department expect the affected stretch of Auburn Ravine Road to reopen permanently at about 5 p.m. Wednesday.
The roadway is located within the city limits of Auburn. The sewage pipe that broke Monday is used by Placer County to take raw sewage to a treatment plant on Joeger Road.
Placer County officials estimate that up to 2,000 gallons of sewage leaked from the broken sewer line. Much of the sewage was recovered by vacuum trucks, but an estimated 200 gallons got into nearby Auburn Ravine.
The cause of the incident is believed to be wear and tear on the pipe that broke. It was installed in about 1960.
After a resident reported the leak at about 9:30 a.m. Monday, Facility Services responded by shutting down pumps at a nearby lift station, so sewage would no longer be pumped through the broken pipe. Work crews installed plugs in storm drain lines to keep additional sewage water from reaching the stream and the vacuum trucks were brought on scene to remove sewage that accumulated on the ground.
The Placer County Environment Health Division of the Health and Human Services Department is overseeing clean-up work. No drinking water supplies were impacted.
Environmental Health is asking residents to stay out of the stream and to keep their pets from entering the water in the vicinity of Auburn Ravine and Dairy roads until further notice. Placer County is testing the water to determine when it is safe to enter.
Should anyone come into contact with contaminated water, they should wash well with soap and water. Pets should be washed as well if they contact contaminated water.
Local agencies that responded to the incident include the Placer County Facility Services Department, Environmental Health Division, Office of Emergency Services and Risk Management Division; city of Auburn Fire and Public Works departments; and city of Roseville Public Works Department. State agencies have been notified of the accident.
For information about the spill, the public can access a recorded message with updated information at 530-886-5310.