The break of a 14-inch sewer main near Water Street and Gaines Street created sinkholes in the waterfront area near downtown, with one of the holes partially swallowing one of the city's vacuum trucks that was sent to the emergency.

The failure of the sewer main — a critical piece in Port Townsend's sewer system as the pipe serves all of downtown and most of Uptown — earlier this week led to

sewage overflowing from maintenance holes in the area. Sewage also began to bubble up through the pavement, according to a Dec. 28 memo from Public Works Director Steve King to City Manager John Mauro.

In the memo, King also said the city got calls from nearby condo residents and the Bayview Restaurant that sewage was backing up in basements.

A 7-foot section of the asbestos concrete pipe failed, according to King, and the pipe was described as "brittle and thin wall."

The pipe, about 10 feet underground, was probably damaged by the extreme tide on the morning of Dec. 27, according to city staff.

The city reported the sewage overflow event to the Department of Ecology, the

Department of Health, and Jefferson County Health, according to King.

While city officials had said earlier this week that no sewage had flowed directly into Port Townsend Bay after the break, King noted in his Dec. 28 memo that "if any sewage made it to PT Bay, staff expects it was less than approx. 50 gallons."

The broken pipe was discovered Tuesday, Dec. 27 after city crews noticed the sewer overflowing in the area.

Emergency repairs on the broken main started last week, with trash pumps used to pump sewage to the Gaines Street lift station from the overflowing pipe.

Sewer service was restored by 1 p.m. Dec. 27.

Bypass pumping was then used to handle sewage flows and prevent any spills into Port Townsend Bay.

Seton Construction was called in to lead the repair effort and digging in the area started Dec. 28.

Officials also learned that a storm sewer pipe that crosses the sewer line was also leaking.

In addition to the 7-foot section of sewer main that failed, the remaining 120 feet of the main was full of sediment. That section of pipe is also expected to be replaced.

Workers also discovered a maintenance hole that was completely full of rock, sand,  and asphalt.

One sink hole was discovered when pavement gave way under a city vacuum truck that had been sent to the scene.

The street collapsed under the rear axle of the truck and the truck was damaged, but no one was hurt, according to King's memo.

Repairs are estimated to cost $150,000.

The Port Townsend City Council is expected to pass an emergency declaration on the sewer pipe failure at its meeting Tuesday, Jan. 3. The resolution will ratify actions taken by the city manager for emergency repairs.

According to the city, the costs of the sewer pipe replacement will be covered by funding in the budget that was adopted for other projects, and a budget supplement may be required in the first quarter of 2023 to cover the costs.