Tacoma Pooper Pipeline

[Kirby]

Dive Site Name: The Pooper Pipe a.k.a. Marine Park Pipeline

Current Sensitive: No but have seen current on big exchanges, site still diveable. Waterfall current on big flood exchange, exciting but easily overcome.

Location/Address: Next parking lot on Ruston way past Les Davis Pier heading towards point Defiance.

Directions: Ruston Way Past Old Town, Past Les Davis Pier, park in small lot next to concrete tilt out picnic area.

Free Parking: Yes, parking lot closes at 2200 hours.

Staging Area: Good, enter on far side of tilt out concrete picnic area or if your adventurous climb down rocks near vent pipe on parking lot side.

Surface Swim: None required, can swim out to pilings and drop into 15 ft on high tide approx 100 feet out.

Nearby Facilities: Les Davis Pier snack bar and bathroom within walking distance (long walk)

Special Considerations: Hard to find pipe, buried out to depth of 70 feet. Follow mound of 1 to 3 inch diameter rock straight out from shore towards yellow surface bouy.
Rocks end 20 feet from pipe, turns to sandy bottom. I beam extends from center of junction box towards shore.

Maximum Depth: End of pipeline is at 155 ft on high tide.

Dive Site Description: Pipe is covered with large anenome to end, 4 foot diameter. 6 large bore discharge ports start at 135 feet, first points towards shore so don't swim over pipe directly into it! Great place to see decorated warbonnets. Large colony live on pipe in protected areas around bolts and sandbags hanging along side of pipe. Finish dive in pilings visible from shore, large schools of perch and tubesnout seen there today.

[Scubak]

Kirby, Kirby....
Don't they tell you that the buoy you are diving off of is for hazardess waste? Why oh why....do you keep diving that place????
Oh well, hope you had fun.
K

[CaptnJack]

That's sewage, not hazardous waste.

Here's the fact sheet for that treatment plant:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/permi ... a_n_fs.pdf

And here's its operating permit:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/permi ... permit.pdf

While the bacteria counts are specified to be less than 100 colonies per mL (quite clean), I don't think I would dive there. Way too many viruses to potentially come in contact with (e.g. hepatitis).

Most commerical divers inspecting diffusion ports on such an outfall would have a full face mask, latex hood, dry gloves, etc. Zero contact with that water.

[CaptnJack]

I would suggest not diving to 156ft on air/nitrox. Your judgement/abilities are probably seriously compromised as evidenced by the 5 vs. 6 ports recollection.

Any little problem could overwhelm you or an increased workload can lead to CO2 retention (due to high gas density) and even more narcosis. Most people I know are limiting their narcotic depth to 100-110 ft. To have both a safer dive and one they can remember. Dive safe.

[Kirby]

Some considerate person has laid line along the right hand side of the buried pipeline out to the Box where the pipe emerges. Certainly simplifies nav out to the box at 80 ft or so. Saw a nice decorated warbonnet in a small hole on the left side of the box yesterday. Vis is still bad though from all the run off.

[Grateful Diver]

Some considerate person has laid line along the right hand side of the buried pipeline out to the Box where the pipe emerges. Certainly simplifies nav out to the box at 80 ft or so. Saw a nice decorated warbonnet in a small hole on the left side of the box yesterday. Vis is still bad though from all the run off.

That "considerate" person is being paid handsomely to survey the pipe and videotape it's condition for the City of Tacoma ... I wouldn't expect the line to remain there when he's done.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[Cwest]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb8c0TU7-wo


This video needs a little work yet but might give an idea of what to expect on this dive.

[Tom Nic]

This site is intrigueing - would love to visit the Warbonnetts!

Although the discharge creeps me out a bit....

And if I understand correctly, this site doesn't really get started till you hit the 80fsw mark, so definitely a deep dive!

[Grateful Diver]

Don't get too creeped out by the discharge ... the water coming out that pipe is cleaner than the water it's dumping into.

I'd like to scooter it sometime ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[JohnsIsland]

The idea of diving around the outfall does creep me out a bit, but it's not exactly rationale, My brain knows Bob is right, so given the chance to dive the outfall, I would suck it up and laugh off the creepiness I felt. I like how you can see through the outfall flow.

Given the chance to dive this outfall,

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trPKIvrz8XA[/youtube]

I wouldn't.

I don't even want to think about Vicotoria's outfalls. I am glad Mr. Floatie is working to educate people.

If you haven't seen Mr. Floatie

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-NWbzB3ut0&NR=1[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTUvNGuiuZE[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqwwN61uF7w[/youtube] ...hahaha, MaCaulay Point mussels!

Jeff

[BASSMAN]

This is a great dive! Found a cool, green, Blob-Top bottle @ 130 fsw!
Bring plenty of air with you.
I did it to 135' on a single HP100 cu ft bottle w/ about 4 min. of deco at depth.
Comming back up shallow and checking out the pylons at 40' burned off all of my Deco obligation.
But I also ended the dive with 400 psi., a litttle uncomfortable for my own standards.
I would like to dive it again, but use a HP130 cu ft bottle next time.
Greatfuldivers rule of thumb "Don't dive deeper than the Cu Ft bottle." really applies here.
I should of complied with that the first time.

[sea2summit]

Scootered that last week. It's a pretty awesome scooter dive, it wasn't the focus of our dive but I significant part. Lots to see and I'd recommend it.