Fast action by King County wastewater crew stops Lincoln Park sewer line leak

King County contractors and staff moved quickly to stop a sewer line leak in West Seattle's Lincoln Park shortly after it was discovered early Saturday morning. The leak occurred about a half-mile from King County's Barton Street Pump Station north of the Fauntleroy ferry dock.

To stop the leak, King County's Wastewater Treatment Division shut down the Barton pump station and will bypass the damaged line using trucks to haul wastewater from Barton to the Alki Treatment Plant.

Because some flow is still being bypassed from the Barton pump station to an outfall in Puget Sound, the county posted the beach as closed, took water samples, and told health and regulatory agencies about the leak. The county will start repairs early this week once the ground is shored up and equipment and materials needed to begin work are delivered.

The leak was caused when heavy rains and increased flows caused a section of the 50-year-old pipe to dislocate, creating a 10-foot-diameter sinkhole in the park. Another section of pipe on the same line was damaged after heavy rains on January 17. http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/dnrp/newsroom/newsreleases/2006/january/0117lincolnpark.aspx

King County is working on a long-term plan to repair or replace the aging facilities.

For public safety, King County fenced off the area around the leak and coordinated with City of Seattle Parks and Recreation staff to close the beach trail north of the Colman Pool.

King County staff will work to repair the pipe and resume normal operations as quickly as possible.

King County's Wastewater Treatment Division protects public health and water quality by serving 17 cities, 17 local sewer utilities and more than 1.4 million residents in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. Formerly called Metro, the regional clean-water agency now operated by King County has been preventing water pollution for more than 40 years.