Thousand Oaks Checks New Report of Contaminated Creeks

City officials grappling with the aftermath of an 86-million-gallon sewage spill are investigating a new report of contamination in Conejo Valley creeks.

The report came from Westlake Village environmental attorney Edward Masry, who contends that high bacteria counts are the result of leaking municipal sewer lines.

But state water quality officials say they believe that runoff--particularly from stables--is the culprit.

Thousand Oaks officials are reviewing water-quality data submitted to the city by Masry earlier this week and expect to release a report in a few days.

Spurred by a resident’s complaint about water quality in Lindero Creek, Masry hired an environmental laboratory to test samples from it, as well as Lake Lindero, where it empties, and the north and south forks of Arroyo Conejo.

Lindero Creek begins in the hills north of the North Ranch Country Club and winds along the county line through parts of Thousand Oaks, Oak Park, Westlake Village and Agoura Hills.

The company hired by Masry, FGL Environmental in Santa Paula, found bacteria levels exceeding state standards in those waterways.

“We’re concerned there’s a health problem on the horizon,” said Masry, who also represents Simi Valley residents who are suing Rocketdyne over health problems that they have suffered.

“Obviously, something is wrong. We don’t think it’s safe, especially for kids, to be wading in those creeks,” he said.

Officials with the state Regional Water Quality Control Board agree that the creeks are not safe for people to be in, but only during the rainy season when fast-running flows are laced with runoff containing waste from wildlife, pets and horses.

In the dry season, however, the creek water is “probably OK” for children to be in, said Mark Pumford, environmental specialist with the state agency.

As for Masry’s fears that untreated waste water may be leaking from buried pipes, Pumford said tests his agency has conducted indicate that bacteria counts are consistent with heavy rain washing horse manure and other animal waste into the creek. If levels were high in the summer, then another pollution source would be a possibility, he said.

James Drury, environmental specialist for the Masry & Vititoe law firm, disagreed with Pumford--especially where Lindero Creek is concerned.

“No way. There are no equestrian facilities in the upper Lindero watershed,” said Drury, who regularly tests water for chemical contamination for the well-known toxic torts law firm. “There are homes up there hooked into sewer lines. The coliform levels increase as you come downhill.”

He also argued that the Lindero samples were taken during dry weather--in September, October, November and January.

Drury admitted that the Arroyo Conejo results leave room for interpretation as samples were taken in the wet month of February, some of them near homes or recreational centers with horse stables.

They were gathered from the arroyo’s north fork at several points starting near the intersection of Avenida de las Flores and the Moorpark Freeway west to Wildwood Park. Along the south fork, samples were taken from a stretch between Oakbrook Community Park on the east and Ventu Park Road on the west.

Still, Drury and his employer are not ready to drop the matter. They allege that one of the worst effects of the high bacteria levels is a massive fish kill in Lake Lindero in September.

Officials with Lake Lindero Country Club, which maintains the lake, counter that the fish died because the shallow lake needs to be dredged of organic material that depletes the water’s oxygen.

Drury plans to continue testing using guidelines recommended by the state water board to achieve maximum accuracy. He will take samples from the same location four times in a 30-day period.

Pumford said he will welcome those results, just as he is grateful for the data that Drury has already provided his agency.

“We encourage volunteer monitoring,” he said.

City Public Works Director Don Nelson declined to comment on Masry’s data until a staff member has prepared an analysis, which may take a week.

Nelson’s department and the Thousand Oaks City Council are under federal investigation for the 86 million gallons of sewage that polluted Conejo Creek, Arroyo Conejo creek and ocean waters last month. In response to a court order, the legal staff is photocopying documents related to the city’s sewage collection pipes and treatment facility to forward to the U. S. attorney’s office.

In the lower Lindero Creek area, the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District is responsible for sewage collection and treatment for the city of Agoura Hills.

The district regularly inspects its pipes for leakage, said spokeswoman Arlene Post, but will take action if Masry’s expanded testing warrants it.

She added that cats, dogs, ducks, birds and other animals can contribute to contamination of an open body of water, and some humans are not very responsible when participating in outdoor recreation.