Closing out 2024 with big wins for Puget Sound

People gather on the beach to enjoy the sunset over Puget Sound, with the Olympic Mountains in the distance.

We’ve been busy this year—like cleaning 66.5 billion gallons of wastewater this year busy. This was due to the hard work of our Wastewater Treatment Division’s employees, all day, every day. Here is a highlight of some of our biggest and most consequential milestones of 2024 that will improve how we protect and enhance the Puget Sound region in 2025 and beyond. From powering up new infrastructure to restoring vital waterways, we made big waves in our effort to serve our communities and advance our sustainability. So, let’s dive in and take a closer look! 

1. Powering up West Point

Battery cabinets stand ready at King County’s power quality facility, ensuring seamless power reliability for critical infrastructure.

Let’s start with a project that quite literally keeps the pumps on at West Point Treatment Plant in Seattle. This summer, we completed the construction of a high-voltage battery system, one of the first of its kind in the country. The building houses 48,000 battery cells to keep our critical pumps running when storms cause split-second voltage sags in the inbound power lines. In fact, the facility passed its first major test with flying colors during the powerful windstorm in November. To top it off, crews added 140 solar panels on the roof to power the lighting, heating, and ventilation inside the battery building. In just three and a half years (wicked fast for a project of this size), we’ve built a resilient, reliable, and sustainable power system that keeps West Point ready to protect Puget Sound!

2.Controlling combined sewer overflow outfalls under new changes

An aerial view of Puget Sound from the Beacon Hill neighborhood in Seattle.

Nobody likes a combined sewer overflow, especially us. For decades, we’ve been building infrastructure to contain excess flows from storms. Good example: Georgetown Wet Weather Treatment Station. Trouble is that storms are getting larger and more severe under climate change. Which brings us to the point: To adapt to bigger storms, we need to build more complex projects that can hold more flow. This year we negotiated changes with federal and state regulators to give us more time (until 2037) to complete the remaining overflow control projects. The good news is that these projects will be designed for climate resilience, so our investments now in clean water will last for future generations.  

3. Securing investments for the future

A group of officials tours the pump room at West Point Treatment Plant in March.

Maintaining a reliable wastewater system takes big investments, and this year, we secured a nearly $500 million loan commitment from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take on 14 major projects. These range from upgrading pipes at West Point Treatment Plant to modernizing infrastructure at Brightwater Treatment Plant in Woodinville and improving seismic resilience at South Treatment Plant in Renton. The loan also saves millions in interest, providing long-term value to ratepayers. By tackling these improvements now, we’re laying the groundwork for a stronger, more dependable wastewater system.

4. Building the next generation of wastewater talent

On top of infrastructure investments, we’re also building a workforce to keep our system running. With a wave of retirements looming, our Operator-in-Training Program, a hands-on, paid training academy, has brought over 70 new operators into the Wastewater Treatment Division family. The program fills critical roles while opening doors to local talent, increasing diversity, and creating long-term, living wage careers. It’s a win for the workers, a win for the community, and a win for the environment. At the end of the day, we can’t protect Puget Sound without the skilled tradespeople who operate the region’s wastewater system. We just closed another round of recruitment for this program, with the new cohort starting in March, and we can’t wait to meet them!

5. Restoring the Duwamish River

From atop a barge, an excavator lifts contaminated sediment into another barge for transportation

The cleanup of the Lower Duwamish Waterway Superfund Site is underway, addressing a century’s worth of industrial pollution in Seattle’s only river. Led by EPA, we’re working with the City of Seattle and Boeing, to remove contaminated sediment and enhance water quality for people and wildlife. Starting with the upper reach of the Superfund Site, the construction is carefully timed to take place from October through February to protect salmon and other fish species during their migration. The cleanup is vital in creating a healthier waterway for salmon, communities, and future generations. It’s a long process, but we’re all in. 

While all of us at the Wastewater Treatment Division team stays hard at work, we’re looking ahead for more progress in 2025. Thanks for being part of the journey. We’ll see you next year!