State investigating source of sewage spill that prompted health warnings on Foss Waterway
The state Department of Ecology is investigating the source of a sewage spill that rendered the Thea Foss Waterway off-limits recently.
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department was notified of the spill on April 24 and first tested the water three days later.
“We tried to contact our lab the same day to see if their staff could process a sample over the weekend. We could not reach them,” health department spokesperson Steve Metcalf told The News Tribune. “We decided to do the water sample Monday, April 27, when we knew the lab could process a sample. We received the results on April 29 with the high bacteria levels.”
The health department issued a warning advisory to stay out of the water the day it received the results. That advisory was lifted May 6.
Confusion remains as to the source of the spill.
A city of Tacoma spokesperson initially told The News Tribune the spill came from a live-aboard boat purging its black-water tank.
Staff from the marinas on the waterway told The News Tribune that didn’t add up.
Foss Harbor Marina general manager Ian Wilkinson said one of his employees first reported the spill and guessed it washed into the waterway on an incoming tide from a larger ship at anchor — likely an accident or equipment malfunction.
“This discharge was large enough that it covered the majority of our marina, as well as the entire northern half of the Foss Waterway,” Wilkinson told The News Tribune on May 1. “Several days later, we are still seeing patches of macerated sewage and toilet paper, which would not be the case if it was discharged from a small recreational vessel.
“The average black-water holding tank capacity of a live-aboard vessel in Tacoma is in the 30-40 gallon range, which is significantly less than what was witnessed by our employees and subsequently reported to the Tacoma & Pierce County Health Department. In fact, it was a full 3 days after we reported the spill before someone came out to take samples, which further underscores the size and scope of the discharge.”
Foss Harbor Marina and Delin Docks Marina are the two marinas on the Foss Waterway that have live-aboard communities. About 120 people live there, and both marinas are certified through the Washington Clean Marinas program, which is headed by the state Department of Natural Resources, Department of Ecology and other organizations.
To be considered live-aboard at Foss Harbor Marina, boats must pass a thorough physical inspection of the waste system, which includes disabling or permanently sealing off discharge valves to prevent spills from occurring. All single live-aboard vessels also must have waste tanks pumped a minimum of two times a month, which is done by a marina employee and documented on a weekly log maintained by our management team, Wilkinson said.
“Our live-aboard community is made up of 83 vessel owners who cherish and appreciate our waterway and take their responsibility as boat owners very seriously,” Wilkinson said.
Records requested by The News Tribune show health department staff guessed the spill was caused by a commercial ship.
“From what we can gather, a commercial vessel may have discharged their holding tank (hopefully unknowingly) on Friday afternoon,” health department environmental specialist Lindsay Tuttle said in an email to staff on April 29.
A spokesperson from the U.S. Coast Guard told The News Tribune on Friday that no major spills were reported around the time the spill was estimated to have occurred. Ships are expected to report spills immediately or risk facing a fine, spokesperson Steve Strohmaier said. It is illegal to discharge untreated sewage on inland waters and within three miles of shore, according to federal law.
Typically, the Coast Guard deals with major oil or fuel spills and directs sewage spills to the Department of Ecology.
When asked if the Department of Ecology was aware of any sewage spills in the Foss Waterway, spokesperson Stacy Galleher said there was a report filed by the City of Tacoma on April 22. It detailed a sewage spill near the intersection of Portland Avenue and St. Paul Avenue caused by a blockage from people flushing rags and latex gloves. It is unclear if that spill is related to the sewage later reported in the Foss.
Galleher followed up with The News Tribune by email Friday. He said a maritime compliance specialist received a report of the Foss Waterway spill Thursday and will be investigating its source.
“At this time, due to the lack of information, it seems unlikely we will have enough data to take an enforcement action,” Galleher said. “However, we are still trying to find out what happened. If sewage did come from a vessel, we will try to find the vessel and offer assistance to get them to a pump-out for proper disposal of their waste.”
This story was originally published May 11, 2020 at 5:05 AM.
