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Submitted by Rob Richards on Mon, 12/03/2007 - 4:00pm.
1.2 million gallons of under-treated wastewater was flowing into Budd Inlet per hour earlier today, and is still flowing out at about 1 million gallons per hour, according to Mike Strub, Executive Director of LOTT, the wastewater treatment plant on the port property in downtown Olympia.
» Strub guessed that about 10-15%, or 100,000 to 150,000 gallons per hour, of that was actual human waste, adding, "that's really impossible to know right now, and is based on normal calculations." This is not a normal scenario. "This is the first time in 16 years we've seen anything like this." Strub stated. The treatment plant is designed to handle no more than 30 million gallons of untreated water per day, and the initial deluge was near 79 million gallons, completely overwhelming the system. Letting the water flow into Bud Inlet is the only real option, as the only other scenario forces the under-treated water into downtown Olympia, which would cause a health and comfort disaster. Keep an eye on this post for a follow-up tomorrow.
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OlyBlog.net OlyBlog is devoted to hyperlocal news and discussion specifically about Olympia, Washington. Contributors to OlyBlog are citizen journalists who care about their community and are tired of corporate media. If you'd like to contribute, please register for an account. Here is a list of local news beats that need to be covered. You can post your news as a personal blog entry, and it will be reviewed (and possibly edited) for promotion to the front page. You can also send news via email. All members of OlyBlog agree to abide by our Social Contract. You should also look at our comment and fair use policies. If you are frustrated about something said in a comment thread, go here. Olyblogger of the Month: Docents are fellow citizen journalists who volunteer to be at your service in order to help with any blog-related issues. They are: Rob RichardsInterests: community building; participatory art, democracy and economics; local politics; citizen journalism. emmettoconnell Interests: City Council, developing a local issues forum. enpen Interests: OlyBlog calendar, Oly street art, local artist interviews, his family, poetry and stuff. Robert Whitlock Interests: peace, justice, nature, nonviolence, media, environment Rick Interests: citizen journalism, hyperlocal media, the knowledge commons. Docent email list Latest Classified Ads Books & Collections ›Blog Local Storm 12/2007 
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"Comfort disaster"
Submitted by Guglielmo on Mon, 12/03/2007 - 4:02pm.I had a comfort disaster
Submitted by wilson on Mon, 12/03/2007 - 5:03pm.LOL
Submitted by security_six on Mon, 12/03/2007 - 5:14pm.I could smell the disaster in the water around the marina. There is a lot of runnoff in the water right now too, portions of the bay are brown from all the storm runnoff.
The real POOP
Submitted by Anonymously Larry on Mon, 12/03/2007 - 7:05pm.There are a lot (no pun intended) of septic trucks that dump at Lott, as well as Vactor trucks. The question becomes how much of what flowed into the bay. None of it will be good.
hmmm
Submitted by enpen on Mon, 12/03/2007 - 8:56pm.Sounds like a great place to put a Children's museum...
Most people in Olympia have
Submitted by Dylan Carlson on Tue, 12/04/2007 - 10:31am.Most people in Olympia have no idea where LOTT is.
Seriously, the smell doesn't travel more than half a block away. Have you ever smelled sewage at the farmer's market? No, and it's only like three blocks.
It's an amazing facility that not only cleans our water, but generates free electricity too. (By burning off the methane.)
The fact that the biggest storm in 16 years means we have to spill overflow into Budd Inlet is an indictment of our love of asphalt, and NOT an indictment of LOTT.
Asphalt v. LOTT
Submitted by Guglielmo on Tue, 12/04/2007 - 10:44am.I agree
Submitted by enpen on Tue, 12/04/2007 - 10:54am.The fact that the biggest storm in 16 years means we have to spill overflow into Budd Inlet is an indictment of our love of asphalt, and NOT an indictment of LOTT.
True that. I do have questions about the wisdom of having a sewage treatment facility built on fill and I do wonder whether or not the biggest storm in 16 years is anomalous or symptomatic of our changing climes. And in conjunction with existing pollutants in the soil I have serious reservations about creating a recreational area for our kids on that site.
We should be saying that
Submitted by Rob Richards on Tue, 12/04/2007 - 11:06am.For the sake of full disclosure,
Submitted by Rob Richards on Tue, 12/04/2007 - 10:52am.I agree with Dylan here though. After my conversation with Mr. Strub, I'm convinced that there was no wrongdoing on LOTT's part. Like I said in my report, it was either the water or the streets, and people are better than nature. If anything was done wrong that caused this environmental mess, it was done decades ago by city planners with no foresight. Often, city planners do not plan for extreme growth of an area, therefore things like stormwater systems suffer as more and more pavement is applied above.
Thank you, Rob, for making
Submitted by Dylan Carlson on Wed, 12/05/2007 - 2:14pm.wink
Submitted by Rob Richards on Wed, 12/05/2007 - 4:26pm.