Puget Sound Sewage Spill
- Event Year
- 2009
- Reliability
- Confirmed
- Country
- United States
- Industry
- Water/Waste Water
Description
A sensor on a valve malfunctioned and resulted in the release of 10 milliion gallons of untreated wastewater into Puget Sound. In the early morning at the West Point plant in Discovery Park, a mishap with a sensor sent the roughly 5-to-1 mixture of stormwater and sewage through a pipe into the shallow waters of the Ellliot Bay. Ecologists expect short term impacts. However, the untreated waste would be higher in nitrogen which can contribute to fish-killing low-oxygen zones like the one in Hood Canal.
Impact
A faulty sensor is responsible for the release of 10 million gallons of untreated wastewater in Puget Sound. This spill is being called King County’s worst spill in decades.