Tristan Baurick

tbaurick@kitsapsun.com

SEATTLE – The Seattle sewage spill was halted late Thursday night after releasing between 150 million and 200 million gallons of effluent into Puget Sound and forcing the closure of some Kitsap beaches.

The plant near Discovery Park began spilling a mixture of sewage and stormwater at about 2:30 a.m. on Thursday. At 10:30 p.m., King County wastewater managers announced the flow had been stopped.

As a precaution, the Kitsap Public Health District announced a no-contact advisory for the beaches and waters off Bainbridge Island's entire east side, as well as Port Madison Bay, including Suquamish, and Indianola. The area is undergoing testing for fecal bacteria contamination. People are advised to stay out of the the water and avoid contact with skin. Public health officials have not determined when the advisory will be lifted.

Warning signs were posted at Fay Bainbridge Park, Blakely Harbor Park and other public beach access points.

The spill is the seventh to impact Kitsap waters in less than a month. Other spills occurred in Bremerton and Central Kitsap, forcing the closure of Dyes Inlet, Port Washington Narrows and Sinclair Inlet.

The Seattle spill was blamed on equipment failure after the King County West Point Treatment Plant was inundated with water from heavy rainfall and a high tide.

Crews have been pumping flooded areas of the treatment plant to clean, inspect and repair equipment. The plant's inflows are temporarily being diverted to other wastewater treatment facilities in Seattle, Woodinville and Renton.

King County officials say the flows into the sound were about 90 percent stormwater and 10 percent sewage.