A few weeks ago, I visited a young couple with kids who live on Bainbrige Island. The kids wanted to go to the beach and the parents said no—there had been a small sewage leak and the Bainbridge beaches on the south end of the island were quarantined for a couple of days. But soon enough they'd all be back to splashing in the water.

Uh, no.

From Slog tipper Todd:

Hi,

It's been six weeks since the Bainbridge Island sewage leak. I've been sailing every weekend since then between Alki and Edmonds, waiting for it to disappear. But it's not. There are GIGANTIC areas out there that are absolutely disgusting. I'm talking square miles, strung out in long lines. Some places are so thick you can practically walk on it. It's horrible what we do to the Sound—that which makes Seattle so wonderful. I've attached a picture of a small area I took yesterday. There is so much of it I didn't bother taking more pictures. If you want to see it take a ferry ride to Bainbridge, or hop on a boat an look off of West Point—off Discovery. It's there that I saw the monster sludge. An area that could be a square mile in size, just strung out.

Here are some questions that would be good to have answered in an article:

Is there a danger of touching this stuff?
How often does this happen?
How does it affect sea life? In particular sea lions and seals.
How long will it take to disappear?
What are we doing to make sure this doesn't happen again?
An arial picture of the monster sludge would have a nice impact.

Thanks!

Todd Phillips

A story in the Kitsap Sun answers some of these questions. They are not encouraging:

In its conclusion, the study noted that the Wing Point pipe "is subject to corrosive soil and corrosion is proceeding. It is likely additional failures will occur over time."

Replacing the pipes was recommended as an "eventual" remedy, but the study did not specify when work should happen.

"The results were inconclusive and did not direct immediate action," Assistant Public Works Director Lance Newkirk said.

Upgrading will cost a lot of money the city doesn't have. Hit hard by sharply declining revenues, the city recently laid off several workers and cut back on many services and projects. Federal funding for city infrastructure isn't what it was when the ailing pipes were installed.

"Since the late 1970s, we have seen huge reductions in federal spending for water and sewer, placing much of the burden on small local governments, like ourselves," Franz said, adding that 30 years ago federal funding accounted for 75 percent of all new water and sewer construction. Today it is about 5 percent.

Todd's truly disgusting photo—probably safe for work, but not safe for life—is beneath the jump.