YACHATS – The beach at the mouth of the Yachats River remains closed after days of testing following a sewage spill continues to show elevated levels of pathogens that can cause illness.
An estimated 62,000 gallons of sewage spilled into the Yachats River after a crew working on a pump station on the north side of the river Friday, Nov. 8 neglected to turn the pump back on when they were finished, said city manager Bobbi Price and wastewater plant supervisor David Buckwald.
Residents in the Bayview Terrace neighborhood where the overflow occurred notified the city at about 12:30 p.m. the next day. The city of Yachats and Oregon State Parks closed beach access to the mouth of the river that afternoon. As required, the city notified the Oregon Department of Quality of the spill.
Buckwald said with the pump turned off, sewage from the south part of town including the Quiet Water subdivision backed up into a main along Bayview Terrace and then spilled into the river from storm drain laterals.
In addition to blocking state park beach access along Yachats Ocean Road, public works crews spread lime on the spill off Bayview Terrace.
City workers have been taking a daily sample since then at 10 locations – nine in the estuary and one 3½ miles upriver outside the tidal zone. They are testing for two pathogens — enterococcus and fecal coliform.
Despite days of heavy rains and high surf since the spill, test results, which take 24 hours after samples are collected, continue to fall outside “safe parameters,” Buckwald said Wednesday.
Once Buckwald determines water quality standards are met, the city will still have to wait for the DEQ to confirm the results before reopening access to the beach.
An interesting and possibly concerning result of testing has revealed that levels of fecal coliform at the upriver site, far above any effect from the sewage spill, are often higher than levels in the estuary, said Buckwald who is unsure whether it is caused by leaking septic systems or animal waste.
Testing for enterococcus at all sites has resumed, but was interrupted after the city ran out of those test supplies earlier in the week.
— Garret Jaros/YachatsNews
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