Weary Responders Save the Day

— from Paul Kamin, Eastsound Water —

Crews have concluded response and clean-up efforts at the gasoline spill that occurred on Seaview Street on Orcas Island on April 10, 2015.  Washington State Department of Ecology response personnel report the scene is stable and there is no additional pollution risk. All contaminated soil has been removed and will be transported to a treatment facility on the mainland. Clean soil will replace the contaminated soil. Soil samples have been collected to verify the findings of the clean-up.

Approximately 300 – 400 gallons of fuel spilled before leaks could be controlled. A cooperative effort overnight between numerous response organizations limited the impact of what could have been a much more serious event. Washington State Department of Ecology Senior Spill Responder, Dick Walker, stated “This incident was handled extremely well by everyone involved- the level of cooperation helped prevent a larger spill.”

Orcas Island Fire & Rescue expresses sincere gratitude to all of the volunteers who responded and remained on scene for more than 24 hours.  Additionally, ongoing thanks to San Juan County Department of Emergency Management, Washington State Department of Ecology, Eastsound Water Users’ Association, San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, National Response Corporation, Orcas Auto Tech/Orcas Towing, San Juan Fire District 3, San Juan County Health Department, Senator Kevin Ranker and Councilman Rick Hughes.

Fire Chief Kevin O’Brien noted, “The teamwork throughout this incident has been amazing! I appreciate the remarkable collaboration and hard work by everyone involved that has occurred over the last 24 hours.”

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The Department of Ecology Spill Response team, and the Hazmat clean up professionals are both confident that the situation has been successfully remediated.

EWUA is however taking the cautious approach, and NOT returning our wells to service just yet.   We have adequate redundant capacity to keep up with current demand.

EWUA is also working with authorities in determining what actions should be taken to reduce the risk of re-occurrence.

It is important for all of us to remember whatever we put on the ground has the chance of returning in our drinking water. Our old motor oil, leaky gas cans, half empty paint buckets are all threats to our water supply. I encourage EWUA members to use this event as a reminder to keep an eye out for water pollution threats that we are each responsible for.