Advisory to be lifted today against contact with Port Angeles Harbor waters
Published 12:01 am Wednesday, September 10, 2014
PORT ANGELES — An advisory warning against recreational contact with the water of Port Angeles Harbor will be lifted today, a Clallam County health official said.
The county Health Department issued the advisory Thursday after 1 million gallons of partially treated but unchlorinated sewage spilled into the harbor Sept. 2 following a malfunction at the city’s sewage treatment plant that disabled a chlorine pump.
Although the risk of contamination from fecal coliform was low, county health officials advised the public to avoid recreational water contact in Port Angeles Harbor through today.
Samples taken at Hollywood Beach on Monday showed the water quality was good, Environmental Health Director Andy Brastad said after the results became available late Tuesday afternoon.
As a result, the advisory will be lifted today, he said, adding that results came in too late to lift it Tuesday.
1 million gallons
About 1 million gallons of “insufficiently disinfected effluent” was released from a discharge pipe at a depth of 60 feet between 1 p.m. Sept. 2 and 8:30 a.m. the following day.
The pump in the sewage plant’s secondary treatment building stopped injecting chlorine into the effluent while contractors were switching the plant’s control system to AC power, said Kathryn Neal, city engineering manager.
Neal said Friday that after the spill was discovered, fecal coliform levels were 800 colonies per 100 milliliters, four times the monthly limit of 200 colonies and twice the weekly limit of 400 colonies allowed under the city’s federal discharge permit.
Neal said a sample taken at 8 a.m. Thursday, after 24 hours of chlorine being pumped again into the sewage, showed a level of 7 colonies per 100 milliliters.
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.
For more information, phone the Clallam County Health and Human Services Environmental Health Section at 360-417-2424.
