Discharge Types

Category 1

A spill of any volume of sewage from or caused by a sanitary sewer system regulated under the General Order that results in a discharge to:

Any spill volume not recovered from a drainage conveyance system is considered a discharge to surface water, unless the drainage conveyance system discharges to a dedicated stormwater infiltration basin or facility.

Category 2

A spill of 1,000 gallons or greater, from or caused by a sanitary sewer system regulated under the General Order that does not discharge to a surface water.
A spill of 1,000 gallons or greater that spills out of a lateral but is caused by a failure or blockage in the main lines of the sanitary sewer system is a Category 2 spill.

Category 3

A spill of equal to or greater than 50 gallons and less than 1,000 gallons, from or caused by a sanitary sewer system regulated under the General Order that does not discharge to a surface water.
A spill of equal to or greater than 50 gallons and less than 1,000 gallons, that spills out of a lateral but is caused by a failure or blockage in the main lines of the sanitary sewer system is a Category 3 spill.
Note: Spills of less than 50 gallons and that were reported in accordance with the 2006 General Order are Category 3 spills and display on this map.

Category 4 Spill (not displayed on this map)
A spill of less than 50 gallons, from or caused by a sanitary sewer system regulated under this General Order that does not discharge to a surface water.
A spill of less than 50 gallons that spills out of a lateral but is caused by a failure or blockage in the main lines of the sanitary sewer system is a Category 4 spill.

Note: Category 4 spill is a new spill category in Order 2022-0103-DWQ with the goal of decreasing reporting frequency for smaller spills of less than 50 gallons.

Category 4 Spills and spills from Enrollee owned/operated laterals that are caused by a failure or blockage in the lateral and that do not discharge to a surface water, are not shown on the incident map due to the annual reporting requirements for these types of spills.