Percival Creek bacteria levels still elevated after sewage spill

Public Health officials are urging people to avoid contact with the water in Percival Creek, after tests found elevated bacteria levels caused by a large-volume sewage spill at South Puget Sound Community College’s west Olympia campus earlier this week.

Bacteria levels for Budd Inlet are in the acceptable range, said Jane Mountjoy-Venning, the Public Health and Social Services water quality employee heading the testing. But officials are advising people to wash their hands after coming into contact with the inlet water and before eating.

Percival Creek flows into Capitol Lake near the railroad tracks which then flows into Budd Inlet. Public Health collected samples Thursday at SPSCC, downstream on Percival Creek, at West Bay Park, at West Bay Marina, and at Priest Point Park.

The spill occurred south of parking lot H at SPSCC at the site of the college’s future fitness center, and contaminated Percival Creek downstream from the construction site.

The county said it does not know when the spill began, but Thurston County Public Health and Social Services was notified on Tuesday, and immediately responded to the site to take samples. Initial water quality results received Thursday show that sewage did enter Percival Creek, according to the county.

It appears the spill was caused by construction activity, disrupting a sewer main that can carry as much as 200,000 gallons of sewage per day. Measures have been taken to ensure no additional sewage is spilled, a county news release said.

Pease Construction is the company working on the site, according to SPSCC Chief Communications Officer Kelly Green. She said there is an ongoing investigation into the cause of the spill.

“At this point we suspect it was the construction company, but that hasn’t been officially determined yet,” Green said.

The county news release said the construction company is responsible for the cleanup.

Green said the college’s partners — the City of Olympia, Thurston County and the Department of Health — responded and repaired the problem quickly.

“We really appreciate Percival Creek and all the waterways we’re connected to, so it’s disappointing when something like this happens,” Green said. “But the response has been as good as it could possibly be.”

Health officials are unsure of the amount of sewage spilled.

Water quality samples show that sewage entered Percival Creek upstream of the SPSCC footbridge. The bacteria levels in the water at the footbridge were more than 100 times higher than is considered safe immediately after the spill on Tuesday.

This story was originally published May 31, 2019 at 4:58 PM with the headline "Percival Creek bacteria levels still elevated after sewage spill."