The park district will present a proposed new vision for Blakely Harbor Park this week.
The public is invited to view and comment on a proposed new concept plan for the park at 6 p.m. Thursday at the district’s Strawberry Hill Park headquarters. More details on the meeting can be found here. An overview is posted below.
Comments can also be sent to Perry Barrett – perry@biparks.org – by Sept. 17. Continue reading
The lowest tide I’ve ever seen at Blakely Harbor revealed some interesting remnants of the Port Blakely mill town that bustled in the harbor a century ago.
On Wednesday, a rarely-seen blanket of water-logged lumber was visible on large portion of Blakely Harbor Park’s beach. Not sure why it forms a zig-zag pattern. Any ideas?
Head down below to see a few more low-tide curiosities.
UPDATE: Most of the sewage was contained in a nearby wetland. The city and sewer plant operator plan to pump out the sewage on Monday. Click here for our latest story on the spill.
Public health officials are warning people to steer clear of Tani Creek and Blakely Harbor Park’s beach after sewage leaked into a wetland near the Fort Ward sewage treatment plant.
Here’s our report from yesterday.
The wetland, which sits next to a public trail, connects to Tani, which flows into Blakely.
The state Dept. of Ecology warned that “contact with fecal contaminated waters can result in gastroenteritis, skin rashes, upper respiratory infections and other illnesses. Children and the elderly may be more vulnerable to waterborne illnesses.”
The Kitsap Public Health District has taken water samples from Tani and Blakely to see how far the contamination spread from the wetland. Results were expected today, but it looks like we’ll have to wait until Thursday afternoon for confirmation the sewage spread beyond the wetland.
Sewer district board member Sarah Lee estimates between 3,000 and 5,000 gallons of partially-treated sewage leaked from a hole in a 40,000-gallon tank.
The cause of the hole is not yet known, but it doesn’t appear it was punctured or damaged by force.
The health district isn’t sure how the mess will be cleaned up – if at all. The sewer district pumped out some of the sewage from their grounds on Friday, shortly after the leak was discovered.
On Monday, the health district discovered the sewage had traveled out of the treatment plant property and into the wetland, which is down-slope of the plant.
It appeared much of the sewage was caught and partially contained by a “log jam” in the wetland, according to health district water specialist Stuart Whitford.
Water test results will guide next steps. Cleaning the mess could include pumping out portions of the wetland. If the testing shows relatively low levels of contamination, the health district and Ecology officials may take a hands-off approach.
I’m off for the next two days, so look for environmental reporter Chris Dunagan’s followup story on the testing results.
Two couples who wish to build docks on Blakely Harbor have appealed their denials to the Washington State Supreme Court, environmental reporter Christopher Dunagan writes in today’s Sun.
The case involves the construction of docks in south-end harbor. The City Council had approved an amendment to its shorelines management program banning all docks planned for exclusive use of a single property owner. Under the amendment, only two joint-use and one community dock will be allowed in the future.
Read the full story here.
The long legal battle over Blakely Harbor has apparently come to an end.
The Washington State Court of Appeals upheld the city’s ban on new individual-use docks on the south island harbor, Christopher Dunagan reported this week.
The only docks permitted in the future will be two joint-use docks and one community dock.
A lawsuit filed by two south island families argued that that dock prohibition robs of their rightful use of the harbor “under the guise of protecting the aquatic environment.”
Blakely is considered one of Puget Sound’s most pristine harbors and is important habitat for marine species.
For more information, click here.
