Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSO)

OVERVIEW

Properly designed, operated, and maintained sanitary sewer systems are meant to collect and transport all of the sewage that flows into them to a publicly owned treatment works (POTW). However, occasional unintentional discharges of raw sewage from municipal sanitary sewers occur in almost every system. These types of discharges are called sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs). SSOs have a variety of causes, including but not limited to severe weather, improper system operation and maintenance, and vandalism. EPA estimates that there are at least 40,000 SSOs each year. The untreated sewage from these overflows can contaminate our waters, causing serious water quality problems. It can also back-up into basements, causing property damage and threatening public health.

For more information on SSO's follow this link:

http://cfpub1.epa.gov/npdes/home.cfm?program_id=4

The City of Oakland has an NPDES permit for SSO.  However, the NPDES permit does not permit discharges of untreated sewage. The City's NPDES permit for SSO's may be found at this website:
http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/sanfranciscobay/Agenda/03-17-04/03-17-04-5efinalto.doc .