PORT LUDLOW — Tuesday’s spill of 5,000 gallons of partially treated sewage into Port Ludlow Bay was because of a “routine operation that went awry,” said the president of Olympic Water and Sewer Inc. on Wednesday.
The 1 p.m. spill prompted the Jefferson County Public Health Department to issue a health advisory forbidding any swimming until Friday.
The spill occurred during a routine maintenance check after a valve did not close, said Olympic Water and Sewer president Larry Smith.
“We have reviewed all our procedures to prevent any recurrence,” Smith said.
The company posted several signs at access points on Wednesday to alert the public.
Mark Toy, an environmental manager for the state Department of Health said the sewage was return activated sludge, or RAS, that was about midway in the treatment from solid waste into that which is safe to allow into Puget Sound.
The release occurred 300 feet from shore at a depth of 60 feet, he said.
Toy said that a shellfish closure currently in effect makes the spill is less severe, as “by the time the shellfish are harvested, the danger will have passed.”
Spills of this nature dilute by a factor of 10 on a daily basis, he said.
“Accidents happen, and we didn’t feel that we needed to implement a wider closure,” he said.
Smith said there was no notice of any possible fine from the state Department of Ecology as of Thursday.
For more information, phone Jefferson County Public Health at 360-385-9444 or see www.jeffersoncountypublichealth.org.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.