Subject: Y2k Test ends in 4 millin gallon sewage spill
http://www.cbs2.com/news/stories/news-990617-081237.html
Y2K Test Causes Huge Sewage Spill
4 Million Gallons Seeped Into A Van Nuys Park
VAN NUYS, Calif., Updated
12:03 p.m. June 17, 1999 -- How
do you know when a computer system
has failed a Y2K test? When it caused 4
million gallons of raw sewage to spill
into the streets.
CBS 2 News reports crews armed with
vacuum trucks worked through the night
to clean up the mess that seeped out of
the Donald C. Tillman Water
Reclamation plant.
The sewage started coming out of a
utility hole near the plant on Woodley
Avenue south of Victory Boulevard
about midnight, plant manager Bob Birk told reporters.
The spill flowed about 500 feet onto Woodley Avenue and into a brushy area at Lake Balboa Park. According to CBS 2 News, the mess isn't expected to harm the vegetation, rather it will likely act as fertilizer.
The spill occurred when the plant was testing its Y2K contingency plan
yesterday by mimicking various computer malfunctions.
Experiencing a power outage was one of the scenarios and, in that case, the plant switches to its emergency generator, Birk said.
The error occurred when a computer closed a gate, blocking a major sewage line serving the western San Fernando Valley and causing the sewage to back up and overflow, a wire service reports.
"The computer didn't tell us it closed the gate," Birk said, adding the reason for the problem was not immediately clear.
According to CBS 2 News, part of the park will remain closed through the weekend as the sun burns off high levels of bacteria.
Y2K, or the millenium bug, is the moniker given to computer problems that could occur when programs with internal clocks or calendars roll over to the year 2000.
More Information:
Check out Channel 2000's Y2K section.
Denise
Felder, Channel 2000 Staff Writer
-- Jean Wasp (jean@sonic.net), June 18, 1999