Tumwater oil spill cleanup will soon shift to Capitol Lake

Cleanup following an oil spill at the former Olympia Brewing Co. property in Tumwater will shift to Capitol Lake starting next week.

Booms were previously deployed on the lake, but now crews will remove contaminated lake sediment. That work, which could be noisy, is scheduled to happen 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week. Is it unknown how long the work will last, according to the state’s Department of Enterprise Services, which manages the lake.

The parking lot at Marathon Park will be closed starting May 31 to serve as a staging area for cleanup crews, including divers. Parking will be available along Deschutes Parkway and the walking trail around the lake and park restrooms will be open.

Vandals damaged a transformer on brewery property near Boston Street Southwest back in February. About 600 gallons of mineral oil spilled.

Earlier this month, the state’s Department of Ecology announced the state would take over the clean up effort after it became too expensive for the brewery property’s owner.

Cleanup continues at Tumwater Historical Park, where a walking trail along the Deschutes River remains closed.

This story was originally published May 24, 2019 at 12:32 PM.