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Coos Bay water quality team describes storm response, urges ‘no wipes’ message
Summary
Water Quality Division staff described multi-day emergency operations during a May storm, highlighted equipment and staffing improvements, and urged residents to stop flushing wipes and grease to protect sewer systems and Coos Bay.
Risha, a member of the Coos Bay Water Quality Division, told the city council and URA that staff worked around the clock during a heavy May storm to keep treated effluent within regulatory limits and protect Coos Bay.
The presentation outlined a sequence of pump failures and high-flow alarms that required operators and maintenance staff to manually open gates, reduce pumping to protect digesters and deploy a mobile pump. Risha said Plant 1 received 10–14 million gallons of flow during the event and that operators repeatedly changed filters and removed nonflushable material from screens to maintain disinfection.
The update gave council members a picture of the division’s daily responsibilities and long-term asset work. Risha said the division manages about 90 miles of sanitary sewer mains and 50 miles of storm lines, performs more than 700 locates annually, hauls and land-applies biosolids, and has increased in-house televising and cleaning since the city took over operations. She also showed videos that illustrated grease-clogged private laterals and failed residential laterals sending earth into the sanitary system.
Risha described staff training and certifications: Jeremy is identified as the lead operator progressing from level 3 toward level 4; other operators were listed with their current state licensing levels and near-term testing plans. She said Plant 2 has gone nearly two years with no permit violations and that Plant 1 began a major upgrade in 2024 to provide a modern disinfection system and hydraulics improvements.
As a public-education point, Risha demonstrated how toilet paper dissolves quickly in water while “flushable” wipes do not, and she urged residents to flush only human waste and toilet paper. She also reminded residents that stormwater is not treated before it reaches the bay and that grease, oil and dog waste should not be discharged to streets or storm drains.
Mayor Benetti and several councilors publicly thanked the division. Mayor Benetti said the council had heard many past system violations and praised the staff for reduced callouts and improved performance. Councilor Kilmer and Councilor Niebregal also thanked staff and said they planned site visits.
City staff did not propose formal action at the meeting; the item was presented for information and council acknowledgment.
The presentation is intended to reinforce the division’s operational challenges, outline recent investments and certification progress, and to educate the public on behaviors—especially not flushing wipes or pouring grease—that can cause sewer system failures.
