Followup: Harbor West sewage leak fixed; 30,000 gallons estimated

(WSB reader photo taken under the building before the leak was fixed)
With warning signs still up on beaches south of Alki Point, we’re still getting questions about the status of the Harbor West condo-building sewage leak (3700 block of Beach Drive) blamed for the contamination, so we just followed up with Seattle Public Utilities. Spokesperson Ingrid Goodwin says they estimate the leak from pipes under the over-the-water building totaled “about 30,000 gallons over a nine-day period.” As for the status of repairs and contamination, she also tells WSB:

The repair was completed on Sunday, February 24, but bacteria levels at Cormorant Cove were slightly elevated on Monday. Therefore, the beach remains closed. SPU will continue to sample and work with Seattle King County Public Health to determine when the beaches can reopen. Per Seattle King County Public Health, we need two consecutive days of low bacteria levels to reopen the beach. We are hopeful that the beach can reopen by next week.

SPU is still investigating to determine if any penalties will be assessed or cost recovered.

The leak was reported to the city around the same time as the trimaran trouble on the beach south of Harbor West, but residents told WSB it predated the boat incident.

10 Replies to "Followup: Harbor West sewage leak fixed; 30,000 gallons estimated"

  • Guy February 27, 2013 (2:01 pm)

    I hope they fine the hell out of those condos!!!! But, I’m glad it’s fixed! Without that trimaran getting beached, who knows how long it would have gone on for.

  • Vanessa February 27, 2013 (2:14 pm)

    GROSS! Our poor waters and wildlife……

  • Pepper February 27, 2013 (2:16 pm)

    That stinks!!!!!!!

  • Dale R February 27, 2013 (4:01 pm)

    The condo residents knew about the leak before the boat incident? Did any of them report it or attempt to expedite repair prior to the media attention?

  • wetone February 27, 2013 (4:07 pm)

    So the SPU says 30k in the 9 days hummm. If the condo owners don’t know when the pipe became disconnected I would think that number is a little bit off, as most likely the damage was done maybe from the stormy weather and king tides in late Dec or early Jan. Ya think. If some houseboats had this happen the city would have been all over it and handled things a little differently, like get an outhouse or move out till you fix it. City works in funny ways. Should have been fixed the first day it was reported no excuse for this one.

  • Mike February 27, 2013 (4:50 pm)

    FIne ’em.

  • mike February 28, 2013 (6:35 am)

    Seems like the condo’s need a retrofit to protect the pipe from high tide and logs.

    Why did it take 10+ days????

  • Dale February 28, 2013 (8:38 am)

    Not sure if this is a maintenance item or poor workmanship from a contractor or a product failure. Before we point fingers lets at least find out why this occurred.

  • Christine February 28, 2013 (10:05 am)

    Disgusting. One of the many reasons why development over water is a bad idea, as equipment failure is to be expected at some point. By the way, mammoth cruise ships regularly discharge sewage while at sea. Don’t take a cruise, either, if you’re grossed out by this!

  • boy February 28, 2013 (10:35 am)

    It looks like crabing will be go soon. We all know what crabs eat.

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