Tag Archives: Sewer spill

Sewage concerns close Blakely park’s beach

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.

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Sewer spill much larger than initially thought

The Eagle Harbor sewer leak released much more raw sewage than initially thought, according to updated city estimates.

In a report released on Friday, the city estimated that a corroded pipe near the Winslow ferry terminal leaked between 287,000 to 493,000 gallons of untreated sewage last week. Initial estimates were 140,000 gallons.

City public works staff revised the number after concluding that the leak probably started two days earlier than when it was discovered on May 30.

The estimate revision came city staff reviewed the Winslow sewer plant’ daily flow records over the 15 days before, during and after the leak.

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Eagle Harbor’s no-contact advisory ends today

Health officials are lifting the 10-day no-contact advisory for Eagle Harbor and the shorelines between Yeomalt Point and Rockaway Beach.

The advisory was initiated shortly after a sewer pipe on the harbor’s north shore began leaking raw sewage. An estimated 140,000 gallons of sewage seeped out before city work crews fixed the leak on June 2.

Two sets of water quality tests in the harbor show normal levels of bacteria.

“Our two sampling events at Waterfront Park showed no impact from the spill,” Kitsap County Health District water quality specialist John Kiess said today.

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New poll: Should Kordonowy continue to serve on regional boards?

Darlene Kordonowy has taken some heat from City Council members and some folks in the community about her continued service on regional boards she was appointed to as mayor.

She has a seat on eight boards, including Kitsap Transit, where she’s the chair, and Kitsap Consolidated Housing Authority, where she’s vice chair.

Read this story for more background on the issue, and then take the poll to the right.

The Bainbridge Conversation’s last poll showed that most respondents thought the city handled the Eagle Harbor sewer leak well.

It was interesting to see most initial opinions reflect a view that the city botched the response and endangered the harbor. But, as news rolled in that the harbor appeared to be recovering quickly, the city began receiving high marks.

Here’s the final breakdown:

40 percent: Good. The city did the best they could in a tough situation. (18 votes)
24 percent: Fair. They did the right thing, but the fix should have been made earlier. (11 votes)
22 percent: Terrible. The city’s response endangered human health and the environment. (10 votes)
13 percent: Excellent. The city was on top of things every step of the way. (6 votes)

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Water tests hint that Eagle Harbor is recovering from sewer spill

Initial water quality testing conducted after the sewer leak in Eagle Harbor show very low levels of contamination.

“The bacteria levels are extremely low, and almost consistent with normal levels,” Kitsap County Health District water quality specialist John Kiess said on Wednesday.

Three water samples taken on Monday from Waterfront Park on Eagle Harbor show bacteria levels that are at or slightly below the typical level for marine waters.

Kiess said it is difficult to determine why the harbor may have recovered so quickly after an estimated 140,000 gallons of untreated sewage escaped from a corroded pipe between Saturday and Tuesday.

Tides and currents may have played a role, but the harbor has a low level of water recirculation due to it’s slender shape.

“It’s a closed harbor – long and skinny,” Kiess said. “It doesn’t exchange water real well with the larger body.”

Sunny skies may have played a larger role by “disinfecting” the water with ultraviolet light, health district officials said.

“Bacteria doesn’t survive well,” Kiess said. “Natural conditions tend to destroy it. That’s the beauty of it.”

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New poll: How was the city’s response to the Eagle Harbor sewer leak?

Cast your vote on the new poll over to the right. This time, I’m asking readers what they thought of the city’s response to the Eagle Harbor sewer leak.

The corroded sewer pipe leaked an estimated 140,000 gallons of untreated sewage into the harbor from Saturday to early Tuesday morning, when the leak was fixed. Health officials are still advising people to avoid contact with the harbor’s water and tidelands, as well as the shore from Yeomalt Point to Rockaway Beach.

You can find the results from the last poll (“What’s the main reason voters chose the council-manager government?”) below. Seventy-nine people responded. Dissatisfaction with Mayor Darlene Kordonowy was cited overwhelmingly as the reason islanders changed the city’s form of government.

1. 48 percent: Dissatisfaction with Mayor Darlene Kordonowy (38 Votes)
2. 29 percent: A desire for a more efficient and cost-effective City Hall (23 Votes)
3. 9 percent: City staff exercise too much power (7 Votes)
4. 8 percent: The mayor position had too much power (6 Votes)
5. 5 percent: Citizens want more say at City Hall (4 Votes)
6. 1 percent: Most cities of BI’s size have council-manager governments (1 Vote)

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City criticized for slow, incomplete response to sewer spill

City Council members on Monday questioned whether the city’s response to the Eagle Harbor sewer leak was too slow and not comprehensive enough to ensure the health and safety of people and the environment.

Councilwoman Kim Brackett, who visited the leak site near the Winslow ferry terminal shortly after it was identified on Saturday, was unimpressed with the city’s efforts to protect the marine ecosystem and clean the beach of solid waste.

“This is a very significant environmental issue for the health of Puget Sound,” she said during a council Public Works Committee meeting. “Was there an effort to capture (the waste) and pickup the tissue paper sitting on the beach? I was a little stunned to not see anybody there to clean it up.”

The corroded, 32-year-old pipe blamed for the leak, which spilled an estimated 140,000 gallons of sewage into the harbor, was repaired Tuesday morning. Public works crews had installed a temporary band on the pipe on Sunday, after about 70,000 gallons of solid and liquid waste flowed freely into the harbor. The band halted the flow of solids but not liquid effluent, allowing an additional 70,000 gallons of sewer water to escape.

Assistant Public Works Director Lance Newkirk said high tides delayed repair work until early Tuesday morning, when an extremely low tide was expected.

Responding to Brackett, Newkirk declined to assess the city’s response to the spill.

“I’m not prepared to comment on how well – or not well – we did,” he said.

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