Spills and Dumping

Spills or Dumping on City Streets or in Creeks

The City of Cloverdale provides services for public drainage systems within the city limits. If your property is outside of the city limits, please call the County of Sonoma for public drainage services: Reporting Spills Within the City limits Call 911 or Cloverdale Dispatch at 707-894-2526

Spills Outside City limits 24-hour phone: 707-576-1365 (REDCOM)

Visit the Sonoma County website for information on reporting spills or illegal discharge outside of city limits.

What is a spill?

Section 16.10.060 of the City's Storm Water Ordinance defines a spill as: discharge into the City's Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) or watercourses of "any materials, including but not limited to pollutants or waters containing any pollutants that cause or contribute to a violation of applicable water quality standards, other than stormwater.

What happens when a spill is reported?

When a spill is reported, personnel are quickly dispatched to the scene to evaluate the situation. The city's primary focus is to educate the public about water quality and the importance of pollution prevention. Depending on the type and amount of material spilled and the spill location, additional city departments and other agencies may be called in, including:

• Public Works departments
• Police departments
• Cloverdale Fire District
• Sonoma County Water Agency
• California Department of Fish and Wildlife
• North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board

The most commonly reported spills include motor oil, paint, gray/soapy water, silt/mud/dirt, concreted, and gas/diesel.

What to expect on site:

• In most cases the spill response team member works with the responsible party involved, providing instructions on cleanup (if necessary) and educational materials.
• In some cases the spill responder will call Public Works for assistance in clean-up, and depending on the spill material type, amount and other factors; the individual responsible for the spill may be billed for the cleanup cost.
• In rare cases, as with multiple repeat offenders, a Notice of Violation is issued which carries a fine of $500 a day per violation.

When dealing with a business, a letter may be sent asking for a written statement of their Best Management Practices to prevent Spills and Spill Cleanup. Failure to comply can result in a Notice of Violation.

Information about the spill is recorded in a database and later collated and analyzed to direct the city's educational and outreach efforts. The data is also used to better our understanding how our activities affect the environment of local creeks.