PORT ANGELES — An advisory against contact with the waters of Port Angeles Harbor, including the waters off Hollywood Beach, has been lifted following tests showing reduced levels of potentially harmful bacteria.
The initial advisory came Oct. 4 after heavy rains between Sept. 28 and Oct. 1 sent an estimated 8 million gallons of diluted untreated sewage and stormwater into Port Angeles Harbor through the city’s four combined sewer overflow, or CSO, outfalls.
The Clallam County Environmental Health Division lifted the advisory against swimming at Hollywood Beach last week, said Andy Brastad, environmental health director at Clallam County Health and Human Services.
Two outfalls discharge near the city’s newly completed downtown waterfront esplanade, one sends water into Peabody Creek near where it meets the harbor just west of City Pier, and the fourth discharges into the harbor near Francis Street Park.
CSO discharges happen when heavy rains overwhelm the city’s sewer lines, forcing stormwater and sewage into the harbor so they don’t back up into homes, businesses or city streets, according to the city.
The discharge could contain fecal bacteria because of the untreated sewage, and contact could result in skin rashes, respiratory infections and other illnesses, according to the county health division.
Brastad said test results of water samples taken near Hollywood Beach showed bacteria levels low enough to lift the advisory against swimming.
The city is in the middle of a total $42 million project — the largest construction effort in city history — to curtail CSO discharges by increasing stormwater and sewer capacity between the downtown area and the city’s wastewater treatment plant to the east.
________
Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsula
dailynews.com.
