A treatment plant at ‘Fay Bay’ could clean up a nearby lagoon.

Bob Day is used to falling into the lagoon tucked behind Point Monroe.

It’s bound to happen over the course of owning a home along the shore, whether fixing a boat or strolling the beach.

It wasn’t a big deal three years ago, back when Day bought his home and kids were frequently seen diving in while their parents took an occasional dip. Now the lagoon’s waters aren’t so clear nor do they smell so fresh.

“Now there’s all these floating clumps that you don’t want on your skin,” he said. “You gotta hose off or get right into the shower.”

Day points to underground septic systems and a few slow trickles from the shore as cause for the fouling of his neighborhood lagoon, which rests near the north end of Fay Bainbridge State Park.

“It seems to be getting worse and some areas are pretty smelly,” he said. “I’ve seen rivulets coming down into the lagoon. From the smell, it’s pretty clear what it is.”

Day is too polite to say the word, but it’s evident to some Point Monroe residents that flushing “it” down isn’t keeping it down.

That’s why many in the neighborhood, which includes about 65 homes lining a narrow spit on the island’s northeast shore, want to link their homes to a new sewer system proposed for the adjoining park.

The hook-up would allow residents to abandon their individual septic tanks and drain fields, which disperses household waste underground, in favor of a system that pumps waste to a centralized facility.

The plan is favored by the City of Bainbridge Island and the Kitsap County Health District, which has responded to a large number of failed septic systems on Point Monroe. The state park commission is also welcoming the link as it would help keep the new system flowing during the winter months when fewer people visit Fay Bainbridge.

“It’s a wonderful idea for a lot of reasons,” said Michael Burke, a Mercer Island resident who spends a couple days a month at his Point Monroe home. “On the completely self-serving side, a sewer line helps the (property) valuation. But on a more ecological level, I can only imagine that all these drain fields on the point are having an effect on the water quality.”

It’s a concern for the health of the Puget Sound’s waters that has spurred the state park system to improve waste systems on 24 shoreside parks, including Fay Bainbridge, a site popular with kayakers and beachcombers.

With $1.3 million funneled to them by Gov. Chris Gregoire as part of her comprehensive Puget Sound clean-up plan, park engineers plan to construct a membrane bioreactor sewage treatment plant and upgrade the park’s bathroom by the end of the year.

“We’d like to expand the system and be good neighbors while improving water quality in the sound,” said Joe Ward, a wastewater engineer with the Washington State Parks & Recreation Commission.

Many Puget Sound homeowners think their septic systems work because their toilets flush and sinks drain, but state officials warn that a long list of things can go wrong underground, allowing waste to ooze through soil and into waterways.

Once in the sound, septic waste can create “dead zones,” like those found in Hood Canal, and force the closure of shellfish beds, according to the state Department of Ecology.

There are about 1.2 million individual septic systems in the Puget Sound region, serving about 30 percent of the population, said state Department of Health officials.

The vast majority of Bainbridge Island, with its population of 22,000, is served by septic systems. Two sewer treatment plants funnel waste from just the Winslow and south island areas.

The city Department of Public Works, which operates the Winslow plant, estimates over 7,000 people are served daily in Winslow area homes and businesses. South island sewer district officials have the capacity to serve 408 connections, although that limit has not yet been reached.

A murky plan?

State park officials aren’t sure yet how many connections they’ll be able to serve, but have met with residents on Point Monroe and the surrounding area about possible sewer links.

But some say the plan is murkier than it appears.

“Sewer plants are not the panacea for all ills,” said Point Monroe resident Tom Golon, citing frequent sewer malfunctions that spewed waste near his former home on Lake Washington. “They declared emergencies all the time and told us we weren’t supposed to go swimming.”

Golon said modern, well-maintained septic systems can do the dirty work needed without fouling the sound.

Cara Cruickshank, of the Natural Landscapes Project, said many common sewage systems don’t do enough to filter excess nutrients and other toxins before pumping treated water into the sound.

“A lot of what we consume, from chemicals used in chemotherapy drugs, to hormones to antidepressants – that all washes through in the sewage. Probably more of that is taken out by a well-functioning septic system.”

While many of his neighbors say they’re looking out for the environment, Golon wonders if it’s another form of “green” they’re really after.

“Sewer will increase the number of buildable lots and improve real estate fortunes,” he said. “It’s small-scale ‘vulture’ capitalism.”

Golon and Cruickshank also question whether a state park is the best location for a sewage treatment facility.

“Fay Bainbridge is a small park with a fragmented ecosystem,” Golon said. “Having a sewer facility there, I think, is contradictory to its purpose.”

But city officials say piggybacking on the state’s sewer project could halt some island-based pollution and save local tax dollars in the long-run.

“It’s a heck of a deal,” said Public Works Director Randy Witt. “The state’s interested in better water quality, we’re interested in better water quality.”

Witt believes a ‘local improvement district’ would be required to pay for the new sewer lines.

The city had no cost estimates available, but residents have guessed the cost per property between $40,000 and $100,00.

Burke’s said $100,000 would be worth it, both for the environmental payoff and the likely boost in property value, which would likely rise to match the sewer hook-up costs.

The county health district strongly endorses the sewer proposal.

While recent water quality tests have show that the area poses no immediate health risks, septic systems on Point Monroe have a history of problems.

In the last six years, county health officials have responded to eight septic failures on the point.

“With only 57 or 60 houses out there, that shows that there’s a real problem for the public’s health,” said Stuart Whitford, manager of the health district’s water quality program. “Having sewer is a good move for the residents out there. It’s the best long-term option.”

For point resident Day, the sewer link is the most responsible course for a neighborhood living close to the sound’s shores.

“I absolutely think it’s worth it,” he said. “If it helps clean up Puget Sound, it’s a great beginning.”