UPDATE | City says 67,000 gallons of sewage leaked into Eagle Harbor

Published 4:05 pm Monday, August 11, 2014

Nearly 67,000 gallons of raw sewage spilled into Eagle Harbor during Sunday’s sewer pipe break, city of Bainbridge Island officials said Monday.

A contractor who was working to replace the 40-year-old sewer line inadvertently hit the sewer pipe while digging on the beach near the Bainbridge Island Ferry Terminal at about 10:30 a.m. Sunday.

A temporary bypass was put in place Sunday afternoon to stop the leak, and the line was fully repaired by 11 a.m. Monday, officials said.

The beach has been closed to swimming until further notice, and the Kitsap Health District has issued an advisory for people and their pets to avoid contact with the waters of Eagle Harbor.

City officials said the contractor will finish installing new pipe along the beach over the next two days.

The project to hook up the new line to two pump stations and the city’s treatment plant is expected to be finished by October.