Friday Evening Update – Raw Sewage Spill in Everett, Pond Avoidance, Persistent Power Outages

Thousands still without power. As of 7:15pm the Snohomish PUD is reporting 8000 customers still without power, down from 9500 earlier today. There are currently 45 crews working on outages including some from as far away as Chelan County PUD. They’re here under a mutual aid agreement between Chelan and Snohomish PUD. Another 14 crews are out trimming trees. Mike Thorne from Snohomish PUD says crews will work throughout the night and they should make good progress providing winds don’t pick up. The forecast currently calls for winds overnight to blow between 30 – 40 miles per hour.

Snohomish County issued the following updated this evening…

The warmer temperatures combined with the rain allowed our crews to make great progress today. Most of the primary routes have been plowed and widened and the asphalt surface is completely visible for the first time this week on many of the routes. We’re not moving steadily onto secondary routes and residential areas. Crews also worked all day clearing drainage inlets to reduce the chance of urban flooding, and we will continue that work over the weekend. We will continue with plowing tonight and have crews scheduled for tomorrow. We will have more than 40 trucks on the road tonight. We received salt deliveries at Cathcart and Arlington (65 tons each) today and soon we will be hauling sand to restock the bunkers. The forecasts are calling for wind gusts of up to 40 MPH tonight and we will have crews responding to calls for trees which are blocking the roads. We’ll begin vegetation cleanup operations on a larger scale Monday. Some of the roads will require the use of large equipment to load out the debris. Residents can call 425-388-7500 or email contact.pwrm@snoco.org to report dangerous road conditions.

The city of Everett is reporting a sewage spill into Port Gardner Bay…

Power surges in the vicinity of City of Everett Lift Station 1 around 3am on Jan. 20 caused the station to stop pumping sewage for about one hour. This led to a sewage spill into Port Gardner Bay from Lift Station 1, which is located at 3520 Pigeon Creek Road. City crews were able to return the station to normal operation at approximately 4am. The lift station is now operating under normal conditions, and no additional sewage has spilled since 4am.

The City of Everett estimates that 50,000 gallons of raw sewage spilled into Port Gardner Bay. Currently City staff is taking water quality samples in the area and posting signs to inform people in the area of the recent spill. The city has made the necessary notifications to Ecology, Snohomish County Health and State Department of Health. Questions from the public can be directed at: Mark Sadler at 425-257-8967 or Grant Moen at 425-257-8947.

The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office has issued the following safety warning…

Community Safety Information

Over the past four days, the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office has responded to numerous traffic-related incidents due to the inclement weather. This includes 112 traffic accidents and 320 traffic hazards within unincorporated Snohomish County.

As the weather begins to warm up, the Sheriff’s Office Marine Services Unit is asking our local media partners to help get the word out on another safety issue. The cold weather has left several area retention ponds and lakes frozen. As the weather warms up, those layers of ice will diminish. That leaves a potentially hazardous situation for anyone who may choose to walk on or play on the ice. We would appreciate it if you would share these safety tips with your viewers:

• Never go out on a frozen lake, retention pond, or other waters. Don’t play on the ice along the shore. Even though it appears solid, ice in Western Washington doesn’t get thick enough to support the weight of an adult or even a child.
• Parent and caregivers should never leave children unattended near ice.
• If you witness someone fall through the ice, never attempt to make a rescue by yourself – call 9-1-1. Be sure to give your exact location and an account of the situation. Do not put yourself in danger by going out onto the ice. Try and throw a life ring, floatation device or rope for the victim to hold onto until emergency help arrives. If the victim manages to get out, dry them off and keep them warm until emergency help arrives.
• If you see others playing on the ice, warn them of the dangers or call 9-1-1 and have emergency personnel respond to warn them of the dangers.