Raw sewage spills into river

Raw sewage may have spewed into the Spokane River for days or weeks near the Downriver Golf Course after a blocked pipe caused a gushing overflow that went unnoticed by city crews.

“It’s obvious that something has been happening for a while,” said Richard Koch, a senior engineer with the state Department of Ecology, as he pointed to an unusual growth of brown algae on the riverbank as evidence.

Brown, foamy fluid diverted from a blocked pipe spilled into the river for at least several hours Tuesday, prompting public health officials to warn swimmers and other recreational users to stay away from the water downstream of the golf course until further notice.

“We are issuing this advisory as a precaution,” said Dr. Kim Thorburn, health officer for the Spokane Regional Health District. “We are still learning about the extent of the spill and will lift the advisory when we can be certain that the potential risk has passed.”

Crews from the city’s Wastewater Management Department had no information about how much sewage was discharged or for how long, said Marlene Feist, city public affairs officer.

“The bigger problem is what happened,” she said.

The city treats between 35 million and 40 million gallons of wastewater each day, she said.

Alerted by a fisherman, who also contacted a local television station, city crews discovered the spill early Tuesday at an outfall near Kiernan Avenue and Northwest Boulevard, about halfway between TJ Meenach Drive and the wastewater treatment plant.

An 8-inch pipe became blocked just before it intersected with a 54-inch line headed for the treatment plant, Feist said. The blockage, described by one city official as “rocks and something soft,” sent raw sewage through the 24-inch overflow pipe. City crews used a water truck to blast it clear at about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Many of the storm outflows along the river have sensors that warn the city when they are spilling into the river. The affected outflow did not, said Brian Clouse, district supervisor for wastewater maintenance for the city.

The city’s wastewater treatment Web site – www.spokanewastewater.org – lists the location and status of 21 outflows that discharge into the river. On Tuesday, all 21 indicated they were working properly.

Feist added that she didn’t know how frequently crews conducted visual inspections of the overflow pipes that line miles of river as it flows through Spokane.

The spill was reported by a Spokane fisherman, Michael Pickering, who noticed needles, toilet paper and sewage on the water and traced it back to the pipe Tuesday. He said he first noticed a hypodermic needle in the river about a month ago, and he noticed raw sewage and another needle during a fishing trip last weekend.

“I fished down there for 15 years, and I’ve never seen anything come out of that pipe,” Pickering said, adding later: “I guarantee it was flowing on Sunday just as heavy as today.”

He called health district officials and a local television station, which followed him to the river and filmed the scene. Based on the footage, officials from the state Department of Ecology began investigating.

Koch called the spill “a significant flow” and said he regretted that it hadn’t been reported earlier.

City officials and agencies that discharge into the river are scheduled to meet with state officials to discuss pollution issues today. Dr. John Osborn, local conservation chairman for the Sierra Club, called the timing of the incident “ironic.”

“We have to do a better job trying to save this river,” said Osborn, who came down Tuesday to document the spill.