The amenities at Carmel Valley Ranch are lovely – from the oak-lined golf course, to the infinity hot tub, to the rooms with outdoor patio bathtubs, it’s luxury. There are poolside cocktails or a more decadent restaurant menu at Valley Kitchen (the menu even offers housemade baby food, for $9 a serving).
But behind the gloss for all of those resort guests, all of the resort guests need to, well, go. And the sewage system, owned and operated by California American Water, has twice overflowed and spilled in as many weeks, with potential impacts downstream on the Carmel River.
Both spills are believed to be due to clogged grease in the sewer lines, according to Marni Flagg, health program coordinator for the Environmental Health Bureau of the Monterey County Health Department.
In both cases, county health officials advised the public to avoid contact with Carmel River water downstream from the spill for 72 hours. (No related illnesses have been reported.)
The first sewage release was reported at 9:09pm on Sunday, Aug. 6, about an hour after it started, according to a Health Department report. About 600 gallons of raw sewage entered the storm drain system, which leads to the Carmel River.
“It is unknown how much, if any, effluent reached the river,” according to a Health Department report.
Cal Am officials called upon the company Greenline to bring a hydrojet to the scene to vacuum up effluent. By 10am the next morning, Cal Am officials reported the blockage in the system had been cleared and outflow ceased.
Ten days later, at 8:33pm on Wednesday, Aug. 16, a similar call came in, this time related to a blockage a little closer to the hotel – and this time a spill of 1,200 gallons of sewage.
What happened that caused two backups and two spills in two weeks? “It has been attributed to an accumulation of fats and grease in the sewer lines,” Flagg writes by email.
Josh Stratton, a spokesperson for Cal Am, adds that the utility company is working with the resort: “We’re working closely with Carmel Valley Ranch on enhancing a F.O.G. (Fat, Oils, Grease) management plan to prevent further blockages.”
A Carmel Valley Ranch spokesperson says by email, "As people who live, work, and play in Carmel Valley, the entire Carmel Valley Ranch team shares the community’s concern about the recent sewage line backups and their potential impact on our natural surroundings."
The Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board has also opened an investigation into the spills.