TACOMA, Wash. — Families and staff at Birney Elementary School in Tacoma say they’re experiencing discolored water and a strong sewage odor.
KIRO 7 first reported issues with discolored water at the school in April of last year.
The district told KIRO 7 it has taken numerous steps to address the issues, and is still taking action on possible culprits.
Staff began circulating an image of brown water collected in a water bottle over the weekend. The photo was allegedly taken on Friday, in an older campus building that had the same issues last year.
“I want to see them taking care of it,” said Maria Falealii, whose son attends the school.
Falealii said her son came home with a headache last week after reporting a strong odor on campus.
“He told me that he didn’t eat breakfast, didn’t eat lunch because of the odor,” she said. “He said it’s been going on for quite a while and they can’t wash their hands with the water.”
Falealii is worried because her son has asthma, and she’s concerned that the water could be affecting his condition.
“It’s crazy that here we are a year later and it’s the same issues,” said one teacher, who asked to remain anonymous.
That teacher previously taught in the building that reported discolored water last year. They said spending time in that classroom made them feel sick.
“Just very lethargic, sometimes upset stomach and migraines,” they said, adding that the symptoms stopped when they moved classroom locations.
The teacher also reported smelling the strong odor, but said it had since gone away.
Even though the health department didn’t report any violations during an April 2024 site visit, the district said that regardless, they replaced all pipes and fixtures in the building that had reported discolored water last year.
The work was completed in June, and the district warned that the water may be periodically discolored initially, but should run clear within a few moments.
Then, in January, the district said it received initial reports of a “sewer/gas” smell in the campus’s main building.
“Our maintenance team took immediate steps to alleviate the problem, but we are still working to identify the root cause and will continue to work until the issue is resolved,” wrote a spokesperson for the district.
The district said it has cleaned out the grease inceptor line that connects to the sewer and is working to install caps on parts of the school’s side sewer to hopefully alleviate some of the odor.
Staff and family members are hoping for a fix soon.
“I want to see the kids healthy,” Falealii said. “To be able to drink from the water, wash their hands, breathe healthy air.”
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