SEATTLE — King County has completed a new wet weather treatment facility in Georgetown. The goal of the new facility is to prevent polluted water from going into the Duwamish River.
Construction on the project began in April of 2017.
During torrential rain events, pipes that carry sewage and stormwater can get overwhelmed by rainwater. When this happens, the polluted water is released into the Duwamish river and ultimately into Puget Sound.
“Storm water has a lot of pollutants,” said Marie Fiore, a Public Information Officer for King County. “It's anything that's picked up off of the street or sidewalks.”
The new King County facility is designed to prevent that from happening again.
"This facility is ready to operate as soon as we have wet weather, it could be within the next days or weeks," Fiore said.
Bruce Kessler, the Deputy Director of the Wastewater Treatment Division says the new $259 million facility will take that overflow from pipes during big rain events and filter it before it gets to the Duwamish River.
“This facility can treat about 70 million gallons per day of stormwater that's mixed with sewage,” said Kessler.
Not only is this facility needed now, but he said this is critical infrastructure as climate change could alter our weather.
“What we're going to see in the future is more storms,” said Kessler. “They're going to be of a higher severity and more frequently.”
They hope this new facility can handle that stormwater and keep our waterways clean for years to come.
“We’ve really designed this so that, you know, for the next century we can continue to protect the Duwamish River and Puget Sound," said Kessler.