Committee approves amended emergency declaration to repair Oceanside wastewater dewatering equipment

The Budget and Finance Committee on Jan. 31 approved, as amended, an emergency declaration to repair dewatering equipment at the Oceanside Wastewater Treatment Plant after a rare catastrophic failure that threatened permit compliance and possible raw sewage discharge.

Tommy Mawala, who manages the Southeast wastewater plant, told supervisors the plant received an unusually large volume of sand that compacted and twisted metal inside the dewatering equipment, rendering it inoperable. He said the city brought in contractor Synergos to perform the emergency work and had equipment back online on Jan. 21. “If we were unable to catch this in time, we might have violated our permit and overflowed raw sewage into the ocean,” Mawala said.

The Budget Analyst pointed out that although the resolution listed $500,000 as an estimated budget, the actual budgeted amount on project documents was $435,450 and recommended amending the resolution to reduce the not‑to‑exceed amount accordingly. Supervisor Yee moved to amend the amount from $500,000 to $435,450 and approve the resolution as amended; the committee approved the amendment and the resolution without objection.

The emergency contract was already completed and the plant was reported to be back in operation; staff said they are implementing contingency plans and considering front‑end design changes to capture sand earlier in the process to reduce the likelihood of recurrence.

Next steps: Public Utilities staff will proceed with the emergency procurement under the amended authorization and report back to the committee as required by city procurement rules.