PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County Health Department won’t know until Monday at the earliest if the water is safe for recreation at Hollywood Beach and Valley Creek Estuary, where about 100,000 gallons of untreated sewage spilled into Port Angeles Harbor early Friday.
Clallam County Environmental Health Services declared the two areas unsafe for swimming, wading, kayaking and other recreation that puts people in contact with the water.
The sewage spilled into the harbor after the city’s largest wastewater pumping station, located near the estuary, was taken offline for about four hours.
The facility at 313 Marine Drive was damaged when a driver, who was allegedly drunk, crashed into with it at about 2:30 a.m.
‘Wet well’ overflows
The sewage overflow occurred at about 5 a.m. when a storage area, known as a “wet well,” became full while the pumping station was disabled, said Glenn Cutler, city public works and utilities director.
The spill stopped by 6:30 a.m., when crews restored electricity to the station and restarted the pumps.
Cutler said Friday that it was unclear how much it will cost the city to repair the exterior wall of the pumping station, or if the facility itself will have to be replaced because of the damage.
The water will be tested Monday for fecal coliform contamination to see if the closure can be rescinded, said Andy Brastad, county environmental health director.
Brastad said the closure serves as a warning and is not enforced.
Notices were placed at each location Friday.
“Our general precautionary measures dictate that when we have a sewage spill we really want to put some notice out” so people don’t go in the water, he said, adding that those areas are minimally used for water recreation during this time of year.
Bob Campbell, coordinator of the Arthur D. Feiro Marine Life Center at City Pier, said Friday he will keep the center’s “touch tanks” closed until the health officials rescind the closure since the tanks’ water comes from the harbor.
“We pump right out of the harbor, and I just don’t want to take any chances,” he said.
Driver charged
Port Angeles police Sgt. Barb McFall said the driver who collided with the pump station, 22-year-old Michael Fernandes of Port Angeles, was charged in Clallam County Superior Court on Friday with driving under the influence of alcohol.
McFall said Fernandes, who was driving a 1999 Mercury Cougar, was driving at a “high rate of speed” and did not appear to use his brakes.
He was treated for minor injuries and discharged from Olympic Medical Center on Friday.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
