Its that time of year again - CSOs

[CaptnJack]

CSO = Combined Sewer Overflow
These are a mixture of roughly 90% stormwater and 10% untreated sewage. King County has some of the larger ones with real-time reporting of overflows.
http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/w ... rview.aspx

But Seattle has alot of smaller CSOs http://www.seattle.gov/util/groups/publ ... 008043.pdf
and of course general stormwater is nearly as bad as CSO effluent.

Be careful to avoid ingestion of water during and after storm events and if possible either avoid diving after storms or go to sites away from stormwater and CSO outfalls.

BTW, Cove 1-2-3 has several stormwater outfalls and 1 City CSO. The "Alki Pipeline" is actually a King County CSO and is not an "abandoned sewer line" as described in the Fischnaller Shore Dives book.

[mcloed121]

Thanks for the heads up i did not know that thanks

[CaptnJack]

YW

While they seem kinda gross, the benefit of a combined system is that the polluted runoff from smaller storms goes to the treatment plant at West Point (by and large). Unfortunately its impossible to size the pipes and treatment plant big enough to handle the larger storms and that excess has to go someplace. The highest frequency of overflows is in the Duwamish area so not really in a diving area. But the Cove 1-2-3 area and along the southwest side of West Seattle have occasional overflows as well.

Tacoma and other cities (Bremerton) have combined systems too but I'm not familar enough with them to say much. E.g. If I was a frequent Les Davis area diver I'd look into what they have reporting wise.

[dsteding]

They'll all be puking brown goo by, oh, Monday at the latest.

[airsix]

2 million people pooping in Puget Sound. I has a sad.

[Grateful Diver]

YW

While they seem kinda gross, the benefit of a combined system is that the polluted runoff from smaller storms goes to the treatment plant at West Point (by and large). Unfortunately its impossible to size the pipes and treatment plant big enough to handle the larger storms and that excess has to go someplace. The highest frequency of overflows is in the Duwamish area so not really in a diving area. But the Cove 1-2-3 area and along the southwest side of West Seattle have occasional overflows as well.

Tacoma and other cities (Bremerton) have combined systems too but I'm not familar enough with them to say much. E.g. If I was a frequent Les Davis area diver I'd look into what they have reporting wise.

Actually Tacoma has separate storm and wastewater sewer systems. But the pipes mostly run side-by-side and we do have some areas where infiltration of stormwater into the sanitary system can overwhelm capacity and result in SSO's (sanitary system overflows) during large storms. Two of the dive sites that can be affected by these are Titlow and Day Island Wall.

It doesn't happen very often ... twice in the seven years I've been working for the City ... but when it does, those are good sites to avoid for a day or two after a period of very heavy rainfall.

As many of you know, the "pooper pipeline" just west of Les Davis is the outfall from one of our sewage treatment plants. The good news is that the water coming out of that pipe has been treated, and in many ways it's cleaner than the water in Commencement Bay that it's flowing into ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[BASSMAN]

As many of you know, the "pooper pipeline" just west of Les Davis is the outfall from one of our sewage treatment plants. The good news is that the water coming out of that pipe has been treated, and in many ways it's cleaner than the water in Commencement Bay that it's flowing into ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

So if I dive it, can I take my reg out of my mouth and drink it?
You first, right?

[CaptnJack]

As many of you know, the "pooper pipeline" just west of Les Davis is the outfall from one of our sewage treatment plants. The good news is that the water coming out of that pipe has been treated, and in many ways it's cleaner than the water in Commencement Bay that it's flowing into ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

So if I dive it, can I take my reg out of my mouth and drink it?
You first, right?

Ever tried drinking salt water? Its not going to stay down long...

[Grateful Diver]

As many of you know, the "pooper pipeline" just west of Les Davis is the outfall from one of our sewage treatment plants. The good news is that the water coming out of that pipe has been treated, and in many ways it's cleaner than the water in Commencement Bay that it's flowing into ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

So if I dive it, can I take my reg out of my mouth and drink it?
You first, right?

I said it's cleaner than Commencement Bay. That's like saying your garage floor is cleaner than your driveway ... would you consider eating off of either one?

I wouldn't ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[DiverBob]

YW

As many of you know, the "pooper pipeline" just west of Les Davis is the outfall from one of our sewage treatment plants. The good news is that the water coming out of that pipe has been treated, and in many ways it's cleaner than the water in Commencement Bay that it's flowing into ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Hey Bob, I noticed there is some work going on this week at the yellow buoy on the outlet pipe. Is that just general maintenance or storm related?

[Grateful Diver]

YW

As many of you know, the "pooper pipeline" just west of Les Davis is the outfall from one of our sewage treatment plants. The good news is that the water coming out of that pipe has been treated, and in many ways it's cleaner than the water in Commencement Bay that it's flowing into ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Hey Bob, I noticed there is some work going on this week at the yellow buoy on the outlet pipe. Is that just general maintenance or storm related?

It's a repair to the pipe due to wear and deterioration ... nothing at all to do with the storm. There are some missing and broken bolts on some of the plates that holds the diffusers in place ... not coincidentally it was initially discovered by a scuba diver who sent me a video. I shared the video with one of our maintenance supervisors, who then contracted a commercial diver to do an inspection ... that happened a few months ago ... and then contracted out the work based on the commercial diver's assessment. The job's just now (finally) underway.

That's how it goes in government work ... everything goes through channels, and what you or I could probably have done in a week-end takes the better part of a year. But when your whole operation is run by permits, you have to satisfy the Dept. of Ecology before you can do anything ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[loanwolf]

That is a great link, It is nice that it is updated real time.

Thanks