News Release

Whiskeytown NRA Re-opens Waste Water System Affect by the Carr Fire at Oak Bottom

Waste Water System at Oak Bottom

NPS

News Release Date: July 25, 2019

Contact: Josh Hoines, 530-242-3460

Whiskeytown, Calif. – The National Park Service has re-opened the restrooms at Oak Bottom. Bringing the waste water system back on line is part of the ongoing, phased re-opening in the wake of the Carr Fire. Whiskeytown opened Oak Bottom to the public April 27th and spent nearly $150,000 to have temporary restroom facilities and emergency pumping contracts in place to keep Oak Bottom open to the public while integral components of the waste water system were being constructed.
“We are pleased to continue the re-opening process of the park, thanks to the hard work of the Whiskeytown park staff and our partners and colleagues from around the country who have assisted in the recovery,” said Josh Hoines, Superintendent of Whiskeytown National Recreation Area. “We are continuing to find ways to open portions of the Whiskeytown despite being a less than perfect situation. We are grateful for the ongoing support and understanding we have received from our neighbors and the community during recovery from this unprecedented fire.”
The Carr Fire destroyed the lift station and damaged some of the temporary holding tanks and filtration process, compromising the whole system. The wastewater enters the system via the Oak Bottom developed area that has Administrative Offices, a Recreational Vehicle Dump Station, Campground, and Day Use Areas with showers, three stores, and a fish cleaning station.
Four weeks after the Carr Fire started, Whiskeytown staff submitted an emergency funding request to contract for the design, construction and installation of a new filtration station (AxMax) at Oak Bottom, and received approval in December of 2018. The AxMax was connected and turned on July 16th.
During the major rain events this past winter and spring the park had to perform emergency pumping or risk spilling wastewater into the lake.
Oak Bottom officially reopened April 27th. Oak Bottom Marina offers activities for the whole family complete with boat rentals and a convenience store from Memorial Day to Labor Day, 75 tent campsites and 22 RV campsites year-round, slip rental, and dry boat storage. In order to facilitate the opening of the Oak Bottom area and to prevent additional wastewater accessing the compromised system, the park set up porta-potties throughout Oak Bottom. “We are excited to take yet another step forward in our recovery process after the Carr Fire!” said Superintendent Hoines.
The National Park Service cares for special places saved by the American people so that all may experience our heritage.
The system works as wastewater flows into a primary waste collection tank which holds 20,000 gallons and two secondary equalization tanks each capable of holding 5,800 gallons. Then it gravity feeds into a pump vault, and then it goes to the AxMax, which filters the effluent before pumping it to another component for additional filtration, then stored in 1 million gallon tanks. The AxMax is capable of processing up to 50,000 gallons of effluent in a 24 hours period. Because the wastewater couldn't go through the full filtering system in the AxMax, it basically had to be stored in the collection tanks which would fill up quickly with infiltration/intrusion from rain.
Please check the park website www.nps.gov/whis or Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/whiskeytownnationalrecreationarea/ for the latest information.