Monterey County Public Works announces an emergency temporary repair of sewage system near Pajaro

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV)- The Monterey County Public Works Department announced that they will be repairing a compromised sewer force main at the Highway 1 Bridge where floodwaters from the Pajaro River eroded the levee under the bridge.

On Sunday, crews were already inspecting utilities and infrastructure in and around previously flooded areas. Once floodwaters receded, the Pajaro County Sanitation District (PCSD) sewer force main at the Highway 1 Bridge was compromised.

Public works officials said that the force main serves the communities of Pajaro, Bay Farms, Fruitland Avenue and Las Lomas. When the force main works, all of the sewage from these communities would usually go to one single pump station into a single force main.

The sewage would then usually go west and approximately two miles along the levee which would go to the City of Watsonville Wastewater Treatment Plant. More than a dozen sewage pumping trucks have been collecting and truck the sewage to the Watsonville Treatment Plant while the force main and pump station are offline.

Crews have called in contractors to begin emergency repairs with hopes of finishing those repairs within the week.