Small Town Perfect Storm, The Los Osos Sewer Saga

A monstrous environmental public health disaster lay under a town of 12,000 people - Los Osos, California. It had already contaminated on of two aquifers serving them and the surrounding area. Now it threatened the remaining water supply. The source was not oil, nor chemicals but 5,000 septic tank sending millions of gallons of effluent down the drains daily.
Good intentions, enormous egos and a plethora of happenstance contributed to the long contest, creating a Perfect Storm that came gradually, destroyed people, long time friendships, some marriages and trust in government. Few believed the town of Los Osos was worth saving, but it survived with scars and started to reclaim its serenity before the dust settled. There a no comparables. Los Osos cut a fresh path and claimed its own redemption.