Environmental Disaster Roundup

After a weekend of pulling our hair out and screaming "why" upwards over various human and environmental tragedies in the Gulf of Mexico, we were greeted with a number of teacup tempests in our own backyard this morning. Cleanup following the Gig Harbor fire of last week is moving forward with contractors said to be removing 3-4 boats (charred hulls) from the water daily. According to the Coast Guard, a worse environmental situation was averted because the city recently purchased 600 feet of oil containment boom goodness. Three cheers for preparedness.

From the Coast Guard site:

Officials estimate the boats contained several thousand or more gallons of fuel before they began burning and sinking as the result of a fire early Wednesday morning. How much fuel burned off into the air and how much continues to leak from still-sunken ships is unknown, but efforts to seal and remove the remaining boats remains the top priority of the state Department of Ecology and the U. S. Coast Guard.

Whew, that was a close one, but it looked like a major blow to the Pacific Northwest waterways had been averted. Until Monday when 100,000 gallons of raw sewage escaped a pipe and spilled into Oak Harbor Bay. Residents there are under orders to conserve water usage in their homes until repair crews can locate and correct the problem. Apparently there is no recently purchased sewage boom to the rescue, though. Authorities are waiting on nature to run her course.

From KOMO:

"I've got asthma and it hurts me to smell it. I mean it shortens my breath," said Fred Farris.

"Hopefully between the tides coming in and out, it will flush the bay and get diluted out so that there is less impact out there," said Bob Jarski with the Oak Harbor Public Works Department.

Until the sewer line is fixed, crews were building a temporary pipeline that stretches almost one mile. It will be used to redirect the sewage.

Public works says right now the overloaded system is not fully cleaning the city's wastewater that is going into the bay. That's why residents were being asked to help out.

"Restrict their flushing, or reduce their showers, or reduce their washing of clothes through Tuesday," urged Jarski.