Garbage truck oil leak upsets residents

What do you do when a leaking Hanford garbage truck leaves the streets of your neighborhood streaked with hydraulic oil stains?

That's what residents of the Stonecrest subdivision in north Hanford are wondering, after the truck made its rounds picking up trash on Wednesday morning.

On Glacier Way, Pepper Street, Cinnamon Avenue and many other streets, it left unsightly black stains of hydraulic oil. The stains are particularly noticeable because the newer neighborhood is known for clean streets and well-maintained yards.

Residents in the area aren't pleased.

"The city of Hanford should come down here and clean the streets. It doesn't look appealing," said John Quinonez, a corrections officer, as he stared at long black stains on the pavement in front of his Yale Way home.

A few doors down, Winky Javier looked at the marks in front of her house. Javier, also a corrections employee, said she hadn't noticed the stains until then because of her work schedule.

A few streets over on Madison Way, Corey Hoover wondered what could be done to remove the marks.

"I really hope they clean it up because it trashed the street. It looks gross," Hoover said.

The truck driver began his run at dawn and didn't even realize the garbage can lift arm was leaking, according to Lou Camara, Hanford public works director. The driver only became aware of the problem when the lift arm stopped working, Camara said.

"Obviously, we're going to repair the equipment," he said.

The streets department came out Wednesday to soak up any surface oil with sand, but the leaks had already stained the pavement, Camara said.

Camara said the city re-evaluated the situation on Thursday afternoon and concluded that a power washer would likely remove pavement, creating another problem.

The marks will fade over time, Camara said.

"Once it gets into the pavement, there's really not a whole lot we can do," he said.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2432.

(Nov. 21, 2009)