Edgewater Hotel sewer line break fixed

A main line break that sent raw sewage into Elliott Bay from the Edgewater Hotel has been fixed, a hotel manager said this morning.

Rudy Sharp, the hotel's managing director, said the fix for the 8-inch line beneath Pier 67 was completed Monday night at 11 p.m. The hotel is evaluating other pipes in the building this week to check if they are at risk, according to a company spokeswoman.

The upscale hotel had been inadvertently pumping raw sewage into Puget Sound since Friday after the hotel's main sewer line broke.

The 223-room hotel — the only one in Seattle located directly above the waters of Elliott Bay — has been fully booked since Friday and currently has about 300 guests, Sharp said. At this point, it's unclear how many gallons of sewage might have spilled, he said.

The line ruptured after its mounting brackets broke and the pipe pulled away from the pier. Saltwater had corroded the brackets over time, Sharp said. They were replaced with stainless steel brackets, so "this shouldn't be a problem again," he said.

Sharp said this is the first time such a sewage-line break has happened in the history of the hotel, which has been operating since the 1962 World's Fair. The Edgewater is working with the city to develop an ongoing inspection plan to prevent future incidents, according to a company news release.

Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) spokesman Andy Ryan said the biggest environmental threat was from the hotel laundry rather than from guests flushing.

"Our primary concern was the detergent, and the aquatic life that could be harmed," Ryan said.

The Edgewater closed the laundry early Monday, immediately after being asked to do so by SPU, Sharp said. The laundry is not typically open over the weekend, he added, and this past weekend was no exception.

Fixing the line proved problematic because workers can gain access to the line only during high tides, Sharp said. Hotel guests were notified, with letters under their doors, that running water would be shut off for a couple of hours Monday night while the repair was completed.

The hotel has been asking contractors to get the work done as soon as possible with little regard to the cost, he said.

"We wanted to do what's right," Sharp said. "More than most businesses — because of our location — we know how important the environment is and take this very seriously."

With its views over Elliott Bay, rooms at the Edgewater typically cost close to $300 per night, according to Sharp.

Nick Perry: 206-515-5639 or nperry@seattletimes.com. Staff writer Sonia Krishnan contributed to this story.