Community Corner
Pump Station Dumps 68,000 Gallons of Waste into Kirkland Marina Park
The public areas around Marina Park Beach are likely to be posted as closed for Friday as crews deal with an equipment malfunction.
Editor's note: Patch has updated this story. You can find the latest information on the beach closure by following this link.
If you had planned on wading around Marina Beach Park this weekend, you might want to mark those plans tentative after a large wastewater spill Thursday afternoon.
Find out what's happening in Kirklandwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Crews with King County’s Wastewater Treatment Division worked diligently to stop an overflow that occurred around noon on Thursday at the Kirkland Pump Station, but not before 68,000 gallons of wastewater went into the water, dampening some of this weekend's warm weather hopes.
An estimated 68,000 gallons of wastewater discharged for about an hour through an emergency outfall into Lake Washington near Kirkland's which prevented backups of raw sewage into homes and businesses.
Find out what's happening in Kirklandwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
County staff will take water quality samples in the lake, post public areas as closed, and notify health and regulatory agencies about the overflow. Crews will clean up trash and visible material.
Kirkland staff expressed hope that the issue would be resolved before this weekend, but made no promises.
According to a press release from the city, overflow was caused by an unusual combination of circumstances that occurred when a transmitter failed to signal two of the station’s pumps to begin operating. A third pump that normally engages when water levels rise experienced a clutch failure. The overflow was discovered during daily monitoring and maintenance of the station, and employees will follow up with an investigation.
The Kirkland Pump Station has been operating for more than 40 years. In 2013, King County will invest $2 million in a project to increase the station’s pumping capacity, replace aging equipment, and install new, larger diameter pipes. More information about the Kirkland Pump Station project is available at: http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/wtd/Construction/East/Kirkland.aspx
This story is developing, Patch will bring you more information as it becomes available.
--Information from the City of Kirkland
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