PORT ANGELES — Mysteriously high levels of bacteria that indicate the possible presence of human fecal matter have closed the waters off Hollywood Beach to recreational contact at least until Tuesday.
Clallam County Health and Human Services officials posted signs Thursday that prohibit swimming, wading — even walking barefoot in the water — after three water samples drawn Wednesday recorded an average enterococcus level four times higher than the optimum average, said Andy Brastad, director of environmental health.
“Where we think it’s coming from is a human source, but we don’t know [from] where or how,” Brastad said.
“It’s a head-scratcher.
Brastad said that while unsourced “spikes” are not unusual, the enterococcus level for the sample taken Wednesday is higher than he has seen in about four years.
Samples will be taken again Monday and the water-contact restriction could be dropped Tuesday after results are received, Brastad said.
Until then, Brastad advised Hollywood Beach enthusiasts to not even kayak there.
“We know Hollywood Beach isn’t safe,” he said.
“If you walk in the water to get in the kayak, that’s probably not a good thing.”
The water-contact restriction also shut down three popular aquarium touch-tanks at Feiro Marine Life Center, which draws nearby water from its perch on adjacent City Pier, although the facility will remain open.
Feiro Executive Director Melissa Williams said she does not want to endanger facility volunteers who would clean out the tanks if not for the high bacteria levels.
To attract visitors, Feiro is waiving the $2 admission fee for children at a loss of about $75 a day.
Ten other Feiro tanks holding sea creatures will be open for viewing — but not touching.
“There’s still a lot to see, but a lot of people see us just in terms of the touch tanks,” Williams said.
Brastad said three samples taken Wednesday along the brief stretch of Hollywood Beach east of City Pier showed an average bacteria level on Thursday, when the results were reviewed, of about 1,000 bacteria per 100 milliliters.
The average should be about 276.
Brastad said high enterococcus levels can occur as the result of winter rains during combined sewer overflow (CSO) events within the city limit.
That’s when joint flows of sewage and stormwater overpower the city’s capacity to handle effluent that then discharges into Port Angeles Harbor.
But city Public Works and Utilities Director Craig Fulton on Thursday ruled out a CSO release as the culprit.
In addition, the sewer lines the city is working that have disrupted traffic near Oak Street and Marine Drive as part of a CSO capital improvement project are not yet active.
“This is an anomaly no one can figure out,” Fulton said.
Both he and Brastad raised several possibilities that resulted in last week’s water testing results.
They included wastewater being dumped from a ship or smaller vessel near the beach, though watercraft are prohibited from doing so, or someone dumping sewage into nearby Peabody Creek.
“It’s going to be hard to pin down where the source is,” Brastad said.
Contact with fecal-contaminated water — especially through an opening in the skin, such as a cut — can cause skin rashes, gastroenteritis and upper respiratory infections.
“I wouldn’t recommend walking in the water with a cut on your foot,” Debby Sargeant, state Department of Ecology beach program manager, said Thursday.
“If you have been wading around in the water, rinse it off and definitely wash your hands before you eat, that kind of thing.”
Swimming in water with high levels of enterococcus also increases chances of contracting diarrhea or vomiting if infected water is swallowed.
Children and the elderly may be more vulnerable to waterborne illnesses.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
