Here’s the latest on the sewage pipe break from Kate Reardon at the City of Everett…
City Public Works crews finished repair work at about 7:07 a.m. today on a 20-inch iron sewer pipe that broke this Thursday morning near the 11800 block of Silver Way and had spilled hundreds of thousands of gallons of sewage into North Creek.
Water quality samples have been taken, with results expected late today. The City is working with Snohomish and King counties, Bothell and Mill Creek to continue to sample the Creek water until it returns to normal urban creek conditions.
Avoiding contact with North Creek stream water is still highly advised until further notice. Signs have been posted in some areas along the Creek asking people to avoid contact.
Crews worked swiftly and diligently Thursday to create three diversion points, and by early afternoon Thursday, were able to significantly reduce the flow of sewage spilling into to North Creek. The flow into the Creek was eliminated by midnight, with a moderate amount spilling into the Creek again during peak usage times between 6 to 7 a.m. this morning.
City workers were in contact throughout the event with multiple organizations and agencies such as the state departments of Ecology and Fish & Wildlife, the Snohomish Health Department, Snohomish County, nearby cities, nearby school districts, Alderwood Water & Sewer District, Tulalip Tribes and the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe Fisheries Division.
The Alderwood Water & Sewer District had crews working at various points in its system as well to reduce sewage flows to the break point.
City Crews used heavy equipment to dig into the ground to reach the broken pipe. Once they reached the pipe, they found the damage to the pipe to be more extensive than originally thought and would take more time to repair. The final repair work included replacing about 25 feet of pipe. It is still not known why the pipe, which is about 30 years old, cracked.
The City sent a notification to about 3,450 phones within the North Creek and Lake Washington area to advise people of the situation and to avoid contact with the North Creek stream water. The break occurred about 6 a.m. Thursday April 12.
Please note: The City’s drinking water was not affected in any way by this situation.
April 13, 2012
Everett