Wastewater Spills Into Lake Sammamish After Pump Fails

BELLEVUE, WA - A Bellevue wastewater pump failed on Sunday, allowing wastewater to flow into Lake Sammamish for about 20 minutes. This is the second failure of a Bellevue wastewater pump since mid-February.

The unmanned Heathfield pump station at 3801 West Lake Sammamish Parkway failed at around 4 a.m. Sunday. A King County wastewater employee was able to get to the scene quickly, and the leak was plugged by 4:23 a.m.

King County has sent cleanup crews to the scene. Local residents may also notice signs warning about the water quality. The spill happened near the Vasa Park Resort.

On Feb. 12, an unmanned pump station near Mercer Slough in Bellevue spilled some 750,000 gallons of wastewater into Lake Washington, according to King County. The spill was large because a warning system at the pump station sent the wrong message, leading workers to believe there was a less urgent malfunction going on.