Quicker discovery needed when effluent hits the river

Four days?

It took four days?

I could see one day to realize untreated sewage was spilling into the Pend Oreille River and take steps to fix the problem. Mistakes happen and I could see it taking a day to realize a valve had been left open and for cleanup to begin.

I would think, however — no, I would expect — that a routine check would catch the open valve much sooner than four days after the original incident. That it took so long to realize there was a problem is inexcusable.

What happened to a "to do" list of things to check on before the end of each shift? Why didn't someone investigate sooner? There are a lot of questions that need to be asked — and answered — before too much time passes.

That the river was able to dilute the E. coli and the sewage and keep the problem from causing health problems doesn't negate the seriousness of the transgression.

The Environmental Protection Agency in Seattle is investigating the incident as a matter of course to find out how and why it happened. Depending on what officials find, the city could receive a warning or be fined.

No one expects the treatment plant to be staffed 24-7 by hyper-vigilant, caffeine-fueled employees who do nothing but work. What the average city resident does expect is a healthy dose of common sense. That means checking to make sure valves show the proper readings — in this case the "off" position.

I would hope that, even if nothing else, there is a better attention to procedure or a creation of better protocols to ensure that, if this does happen again, it won't take another four days to discover the effluent has hit the river.

Caroline Lobsinger is the editor of the Daily Bee.