PORT LUDLOW — The Jefferson County Health Department is warning people to stay out of Port Ludlow Bay and a stream that flows through the Port Ludlow golf course after a sewage spill several days ago.
The department announced a “no contact” health advisory Wednesday after finding high levels of Escherichia coli, known as E. coli, in the unnamed stream flowing through the golf course into Port Ludlow Bay.
Warning signs have been posted near the stream.
The idea is to warn people to stay out of the water, said Michael Dawson, water quality lead for the environmental health division.
“Keep children and dogs out of the stream if you are walking in the area,” he said.
The public also is advised to avoid contact with the water in Port Ludlow Bay.
Shellfish harvesting is always closed at Port Ludlow because of the proximity of the sewage treatment plant outfall and marina, he added.
1,000 gallons
About 1,000 gallons of sewage spilled Sunday from a manhole at the intersection of Muir Court and Highlands Drive in Port Ludlow because of a blockage in the pipe, Dawson said.
Olympic Water and Sewer immediately fixed the pipe and stopped the spill, he added.
“As soon as they cleared the blockage” Sunday afternoon, “they corrected the problem,” Dawson said.
Sewage flowed down the road, into a roadside ditch and into the small unnamed stream.
The health department found between 400 and 500 colonies of E. coli per 100 milliliters in samples taken this week from the ditch and the stream, Dawson said.
Guidelines specify that colonies should be below 100 colonies per 100 milliliters.
Testing will be done next week, with results announced by the end of the week, Dawson said.
“We expect this to go down,” he added.
If so, the advisory will be lifted.
For more information, phone Jefferson County Public Health’s water quality program at 360-385-9444 or visit www.jeffersoncountypublichealth.org.
