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Ocean Shores erosion threatens homes, infrastructure
The erosion threatens homes along Marine View Drive, Neptune Way, Mariner Court and Peninsula Court. It also threatens city infrastructure just across the road, including a 1 million-gallon water tank, a pump station, sewer lines and sewer plant equipment.
OCEAN SHORES, Wash. - Damage to the City of Ocean Shores’ main waterline on Thursday, Nov. 12, has placed the small coastal city on a boil water advisory until at least Saturday afternoon.
City officials said in a Facebook post that the damage occurred when a contractor struck a 16-inch city main waterline, resulting in a significant loss of water pressure affecting the southern portion of Ocean Shores.
City officials, outside vendors, and government partners worked together to coordinate an emergency response. The depth of the pipe, for instance, required specialized equipment to manage the response safely.
"Fortunately, Brumfield Construction was already mobilized in Ocean Shores for the City’s Ensign Project. Upon learning of the emergency, Brumfield Construction graciously agreed to temporarily redirect its resources and equipment to the water main break," the announcement said. "Their willingness to immediately assist provided the specialized equipment necessary for City crews to safely access the damaged infrastructure, evaluate the extent of the damage, and begin repairs."
The Ocean Shores Public Works Department worked from 6:30 a.m. Thursday until 12:30 a.m. Friday repairing the main, restoring service and flushing the distribution system.
What you can do:
Residents on boil water notice until at least Saturday afternoon
The boil water advisory affects the city of Ocean Shores, including North Beach Junior/Senior High School.
Residents in the affected areas should use bottled water or bring tap water to a rolling boil for at least one full minute before using it for:
- Drinking water
- Cooking or food preparation
- Brushing teeth
- Washing fruits and vegetables
- Making ice
The city has bottled water available for residents at 165 Ocean Lake Way in Ocean Shores.
Officials ask to take precautions and make sure children, elderly residents, neighbors and anyone who may not receive the alert are aware.
Timeline:
When a significant loss of pressure is measured, contamination from the environment or from human or animal waste can be drawn into the system. Microbes in waste can cause short-term health effects, such as diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches or other symptoms.
Under Washington State drinking water regulations, water samples must be obtained, incubated and tested.
A test sample was sent to Grays Harbor County Emergency Management in an expedited process. City officials expect to receive the results by Saturday afternoon, Nov. 14.
If those results confirm that the water meets the required safety standards, the City will lift the boil water advisory and immediately notify the public.
If the results indicate additional testing or corrective action is necessary, the advisory will remain in effect until the water is confirmed safe.
The boil water advisory remains in effect until the City issues an official notice lifting it.
The City will distribute updates through all available communication channels as soon as verified results are received.
What's next:
City officials will be seeking reimbursement from the contractor, Ripple Fiber, for expenses including repair materials, labor, and emergency response.
The city required the contractor to maintain a bond as a condition of performing the work, and will pursue recovery of eligible costs through the bonding process.
‘A perfect storm’
The global Microsoft outage that occurred Thursday created additional challenges for crews.
Ordinarily the city would have used their email system to send boil water notifications. Unable to access their emergency notification system, the city instead requested Grays Harbor County Emergency Management to distribute emergency notifications through voice calls and text messages.
The City acknowledged the circumstances may have caused confusion. "However, the City wants our community to understand that the decision to utilize Grays Harbor Emergency Management was a deliberate effort to ensure that critical public safety information continued to reach residents despite circumstances outside the City’s control.
"It was, in many respects, a perfect storm of unrelated circumstances occurring simultaneously," the announcement said.
The announcement lended gratitude to city employees, contractors, businesses and partner agencies "who demonstrated what public service and community partnership truly mean.
"No one involved in this response was willing to simply call it a day while there was still something that could be done to help our community," city officials said.
The City will continue distributing bottled water to residents until the boil water advisory is officially lifted. Water distribution is located at the back entrance of the Public Works yard on Canal Drive. Please follow the same access route used for green waste drop-off.
Until an official all-clear notification is issued, residents and businesses within the affected advisory area should continue following the boil water precautions.
Official updates will be provided through the City’s website, social media channels, and available emergency notification systems.
For official information and updates, visit www.osgov.com.
The Source: Information in this article comes from a City of Ocean Shores press release, as well as previous reporting from FOX 13 Seattle
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