EBMUD agrees to pay $816k settlement for toxic discharge into bay
The East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) has agreed to pay a $816,000 penalty for discharging 16.5 million gallons of partially treated wastewater into the San Francisco Bay, the water board announced on Monday. The discharge flowed from EBMUD’s Point Isabel Wet Weather Facility to Richmond Inner Harbor in the bay in October of 2021. The wastewater was released during a major rainstorm, according to the SF Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, which approved the settlement. The discharge contained chlorine at concentrations toxic to aquatic life, the water board said. EBMUD had run out of the chemical used to remove chlorine prior to the release.