KEYPORT — A seven day no-contact advisory has been issued for the waters of North and Central Kitsap after a pump station in Brownsville failed, releasing more than 350,000 gallons of sewage.

Liberty Bay, Ne-si-ka Bay, the waters between Ne-si-ka Bay and Agate Pass Bridge, marine waters from Keyport south to the Brownsville marina and the waters between Agate Pass and Battle Point on Bainbridge Island were all affected by the overflow.

Stuart Whitford, the water quality program manager for the Kitsap County Health District, said a pump station in Brownsville failed Sept. 18 around 2:30 p.m. due to a broken pipe coupling. The cause is still under investigation.

The break was fixed at midnight Thursday but not until# sewage ran through a drainway, across the Brownsville Highway and through a culvert under the highway. It then ran through Keyport station and into the marine waters, Whitford said. Initially, 20,000 gallons spilled from the Brownsville pump station.

The Keyport station had to be shut down in order to repair the Brownsville station. Keyport’s system accepts all sewage from the city of Poulsbo and Keyport and was where some 330,000 gallons were discharged into the water, Whitford said. Because the Keyport station had to be shut down for a period, overflow went through a discharge pipe that was part of an old treatment plant at Keyport and flowed into the bay.

Sewage did not run into the ground or the beach, just into the bay, Whitford added.

“We encourage people to stay out of the water and not to collect shellfish,” Whitford said, noting that advisories have been posted in the area, including where the sewage ran through Keyport.

For more information, call the health district hotline at 1-800-2BE-WELL or go Online to www.kitsapcountyhealth.com