A power outage at Benicia Middle School this morning resulted in a surge in a sewer line, causing certain classes to be temporarily relocated to another part of campus.

At approximately 7 a.m., there was a Pacific Gas & Electric power outage on Southampton Road, that resulted in Benicia Middle and nearby homes. The power was restored at 7:30, but when the power came back on it caused a surge in the sewer lines.

“We had sump pumps that normally work,” Principal Damian Scott said. “Because they were out for a period of time, it caused a surge in those lines.”

The sump pumps are located in a part of campus that has lower elevation and allow the sewage lines to be moved to the street. Due to the power being out for half an hour, the lines became full and caused sewage to become backed up. Students were still on the blacktop around this time and were not in their classrooms. Some rooms in the E-wing and the locker room were affected, resulting in some classes being relocated to the portable rooms in the P-wing.

Scott estimated that about five gallons of sewage had come out, which is below the industry standard. Had 1,000 gallons come out, the school would have had to alert the county.

ServiceMaster Professional restoration was brought in to clean up the sewage. The maintenance crew was using bleach, enzyme spray and microbial disinfectant to clean up the sidewalks and classrooms. At press time, the school was waiting to hear back from ServiceMaster Professional to certify that each classroom was safe to use.

Scott was very happy with the response from Benicia Unified School District’s maintenance department.

“They were here right away,” he said. “They were communicative and responsive.”

Scott also praised the flexibility of the staff.

“Our teachers were out on the blacktop, had their classes lined up there and walked them to class,” he said. “Everyone did a really terrific job as a team effort.”

Overall, Scott was happy that students and staff were safe.

Tonight’s Open House will be held as scheduled, although some classes in the E-wing still have to be relocated.

It is unknown what caused the power outage.

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