Sewage escapes into Sherwood Lake during heavy rains

Lift station was


Picturesque Lake Sherwood fell victim to a sewage spill on Dec. 30. Officials estimate around 8,200 gallons of a mixture of rainwater and discharge entered the lake as a result of an overwhelmed lift station. MICHAEL COONS/Acorn Newspapers

About 8,250 gallons of sewage mixed with rainwater escaped into Lake Sherwood on Thursday as the result of an overwhelmed lift station, the Ventura County Environmental Health Division said.

Around 1:15 p.m. Dec. 30, heavy rain caused the lift station on Lake Sherwood Drive to fail, resulting in a backup of sewage, the county said. A lift station is used to pump wastewater from a lower to a higher elevation.

In response, the Triunfo Sanitation District, which owns the station, brought in a large diesel-powered pump to bypass the station’s pumps and extract enough wastewater to get the station working again.

The health division said the collection system started flowing again at 4 p.m.

The area where the spill occurred, on the north side of the 156-acre lake, is accessible only by the Lake Sherwood community, the county said.

Signs were posted in the area of discharge and for about a quarter-mile on each side, the county said.

Anyone seeking more information on the spill can call the Ventura Regional Sanitation District at (805) 658-4642.

—Acorn staff report