Water quality returned to safe levels in Meydenbauer Slough following a sewage overflow last week. The spill had limited effect on Meydenbauer Bay and did not harm public beaches.

County officials were able to remove signs warning people to avoid contact with polluted water in the Meydenbauer Slough following a sewage overflow from a pump station in Bellevue.

Water quality samples taken by King County’s environmental laboratory indicated that bacteria levels had declined and the water was again safe for human contact. The signs were posted at the overflow site at 102nd Avenue Southeast, and also on private property at the mouth of the slough as it entered Meyedenbauer Bay near Southeast Shoreland Drive in Bellevue.

Swimming beaches at Clyde Hill Park and Meydenbauer Park were not affected by the 15,000 gallon overflow, which occurred when equipment at the county’s Bellevue Pump Station became entangled in rags, wipes and trash.

Utility crews have seen an increasing number of problems in the sewer system related to cleaning wipes and other products. The county’s Wastewater Treatment Division does not recommend flushing any product besides toilet paper, even when the product is labeled “flushable.”