Four King County park beaches reopen after stormwater, sewage overflow into Puget Sound, Lake Washington

KING COUNTY, Wash. — Four popular park beaches in King County have reopened after a windstorm Wednesday morning caused power outages at a wastewater treatment plant and multiple pump stations, resulting in stormwater and sewage overflow into the Puget Sound and Lake Washington.

King County’s Department of Natural Resources and Parks announced Saturday that the beaches and parks near Medina, Richmond Beach, Golden Gardens and Carkeek parks reopened Friday after consecutive days of water quality tests showed safe results.

Officials said on Wednesday, between midnight and 2 a.m., the West Point plant experienced voltage fluctuations, which caused in-plant pumping stations to shut down repeatedly.

Officials said an estimated 11 million gallons, 80% stormwater and 20% sewage, overflowed into Puget Sound.

At the Richmond and Medina pump stations, overflow was estimated at 165,000 gallons and 80,600 gallons, respectively, according to crews. As much as 2.2 million gallons of stormwater and wastewater also overflowed into Lake Washington from the East Pine pump station, officials said.

Beach closure signs were posted at the parks, warning people to avoid contact with the water until tests were performed, letting people know the waters were safe.

Cox Media Group