Water testing underway after sewage spills into Percival Creek over weekend
.jpg "An example of signs posted in the area of Percival Creek in west Olympia after raw sewage spilled into the creek over the weekend.")
Thurston County Environmental Health staff is conducting water sampling and people are urged to avoid Percival Creek, Capitol Lake and lower Budd Inlet after a weekend raw sewage spill into the creek, which feeds the lake and inlet.
The spill, which started sometime over Memorial Day weekend, was discovered Tuesday and repaired.
The county could get the water testing results as early as Thursday, said Art Starry, Environmental Health division director.
If the results show 320 or more E.coli bacteria per about 4 ounces of water, the county will continue to warn residents to avoid the creek, Percival Cove, Capitol Lake and lower Budd Inlet, Starry said.
About 1,400 gallons of raw sewage per hour were discharged into the creek, officials say. The spill location was between the Cooper Point bridge in west Olympia and Capitol Lake.
The spill is related to a similar spill that occurred in the same area in February when a tree fell and damaged a pedestrian bridge, a sewer main and a water main, said Eric Christensen, the city of Olympia water resources director.
The city began work to make permanent repairs, he said. In the meantime, the city installed a temporary sewer bypass made of plastic pipe, which either became obstructed or was tampered with, and began to leak, causing last weekend’s spill, Christensen said.
Meanwhile, the permanent sewer main, which is made of ductal iron, is expected to be in place in the next week to 10 days, he said.
February’s spill released about 30,000 gallons of sewage.
This story was originally published May 27, 2020 at 12:32 PM.
