SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Coastkeeper Alliance, a local nonprofit, is suing Sacramento County for allegedly violating the Clean Water Act. The nonprofit claims the county dumped raw sewage and other pollutants into waterways.
"Spills of raw sewage and discharges of sewage-contaminated storm water harm the Delta and its tributaries and pose a serious risk to fisheries, wildlife habitat, and human health," reads a portion of the lawsuit.
The nonprofit alleges the violations are "ongoing and continuous."
The nonprofit claims the county illegally discharged waste into the Mokelumne River, Dry Creek, Morrison Creek, the American River and the Sacramento River.
California Coastkeeper Alliance sent the following statement to ABC10 Saturday:
"The County’s deferred maintenance has left its infrastructure failing, resulting in nearly 3,000 sewage spills in the community over the last three years, with over 700 spills reported as directly discharging to nearby creeks and rivers. This sewage contains pathogens that can cause a variety of illnesses, and industrial wastewater that can contain chemicals harmful to the ecosystem. California Coastkeeper sincerely hopes this lawsuit will spur solutions for the County and the Sanitary District to implement in order to fix its failing infrastructure, rather than protracted litigation."
ABC10 to the Sacramento Area Sewer District for comment Friday but did not receive a response at the time of publishing or the recent update Saturday.
Read the full lawsuit here.
