A sinkhole appeared on Water Street early on Saturday, Aug. 31, after a failing sewer pipe collapsed, ultimately leaving a depression in the pavement in the middle of the street.

Just after 12:30 a.m., the city began receiving calls about the potential sinkhole located a few feet southwest of the Port Townsend-Coupeville ferry terminal on Water Street. The failed sewer line carries sewage from the Monroe Street lift station to Gaines Street lift station before being pumped to the wastewater treatment plant near Chinese Gardens Lagoon.  

The failed pipe is the main sewage line serving downtown Port Townsend, most of Uptown and Morgan Hill.

Problems with this pipe were originally discovered after an extreme tide in December 2022, when a sinkhole appeared and released sewage into the streets near Gaines and Water streets. The city found that the asbestos concrete pipe was rotting away due to hydrogen sulfide gas emitted from the sewage.    

Steve King, director of Public Works for the City of Port Townsend, said that after the sewer line failed in 2022, the city received a grant to repair it, and the project was scheduled to begin within the next few months.

“If it would have held on for another three or four months, we wouldn’t have had a problem,” said King. “It failed… the top of the pipe is like mush. You could just put your finger on it and just push, and it’ll fall in.”

According to King, the city declared an emergency, allowing them to dispatch a contractor quickly. King arrived on the scene around 1:30 a.m., and city workers were already addressing the situation. He said that after digging out the pavement, the poor condition of the sewer pipe made a quick fix impossible. The city called in Seton Construction to assist with the work at day break. Seton and city crews worked on attempting to repair and stabilize the situation throughout the day until approximately 1 a.m. Sunday.

“We dug out the pavement, found the collapsed pipe, and then proceeded to try to repair it, which is extremely difficult because you can’t touch it. You can’t even clean it off without it collapsing,” said King.

As a result, workers installed a temporary maintenance hole and installed pumps and hoses that will bypass the failed pipe until the materials arrive to repair the section of the sewer lines permanently. According to King, the city is working as quickly as possible to fix the pipe, with the main objective being to complete the repairs ahead of the Wooden Boat Festival, which runs Sept. 6-9.

“It’s going to be really challenging; we’re already working on it. We got the repairs stabilized, and then we’re full speed ahead trying to get pipe and material here so we can fix this section,” said King.

In 2022, no sewage was reported to have leaked directly into Port Townsend Bay, but if any sewage reached the bay, the city estimated less than 50 gallons reached the water. This time around, the bypass system was installed before any sewage was able to leak out into the bay, thanks to the quick response of city workers and the crews from Seton Construction, according to the city.

“It was truly inspiring to watch Steve and the wider team on Saturday morning, said City Manager John Mauro on Monday, Sept. 2. “They’re such a can-do, problem-solving, determined team.”

King acknowledged that while the leak came at an inopportune time, the inconvenience faced now will make it more convenient to repair the sewer pipe permanently. More specifically, fixing this small section of pipe now means the city will not have to close off the intersection when the final repairs resume in a few months.

“I’d like to say, number one, a big hat-tip to our crews and to Seton Construction. We had two excavators working — our crew was on one, and Seton was on the other excavator, and we were just working together. We needed that kind of people power,” said King. “I also want to thank Washington State Ferries because they’ve been helping keep that lane clear, so we don’t block SR-20 Sims Way.” He said ferry crew were “really good to work with,” which helped ensure repair efforts ran smoothly.   

In 2023, the Water Street Sewer Replacement Project was funded with $2.7 million in grants and low-interest loans.