An improperly connected sewer pipe on a government building housing a state environmental regulatory agency was blamed for polluting a nearby creek with raw sewage.

City workers discovered that while half of the building's sewer pipes were correctly hooked up to the city sewer system that the other half were incorrectly hooked up to the city stormwater system, allowing raw sewage to flow into Burnt Bridge Creek.

Officials think the mistake was made during a remodeling project in the 1990s before the current owner bought the building and leased space to government agencies. Two restrooms in the building have been closed and workers will repair the problem.

The building houses the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Department of Ecology. The Department of Ecology discovered in 1996 that the creek was polluted with raw sewage and had worked to find its source.