Swimmers warned at beaches after spill of 2.7 million gallons of Marin County sewage

[XemaSab]

About 2.7 million gallons of both raw and treated sewage overflowed from a Marin County treatment facility into San Francisco Bay after an alert system failed to properly notify workers at the facility, officials said today.

Signs have been posted along the Tiburon shoreline and at many popular San Francisco beaches - including Crissy Field, Baker Beach, Aquatic Park and China Beach - to discourage people from swimming in the water. However, San Francisco officials said they do not belive the spill will pose a danger to swimmers. Commercial fishing is also not expected to be affected.

Nearby cities and counties were notified of the spill starting late this morning and into the afternoon. Notifications weren't sent to the media until just before 1 p.m. - nearly 20 hours after the spill occurred Thursday evening.

Many local officials, swimmers and environmentalists are wondering why it took so long to notify the public.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/01/MNKPUQMAQ.DTL&tsp=1

Ah... fond memories... I used to ditch class and go to those sewage ponds during high school...

[ReadTomPaine]

1. Of all the places to go in the SF bay, why would you visit a sewer?

Is the location special in some way?

[XemaSab]

2. Birding

Also, two blocks from school, so it was easy to nip over there during lunch... and 5th period... and 6th period... and 7th period... :P