Water shapes life, and life in our region depends on clean water throughout Puget Sound. It’s where salmon fight their way home, where orcas breach along the coastline, and where people across our region gather to work, learn, and play. For more than 50 years, King County’s wastewater system has faithfully protected these waters behind the scenes, stewarding precious resources every hour of every day.
Protecting the water quality of King County is foundational to ensuring the survival of southern resident orcas.
But now it’s time to look farther ahead. It’s time to envision what we want to leave behind for the generations that follow.
To imagine the future of clean water, we began our work in the community. Over the spring and summer of 2025, staff fanned out across the region, connecting with people where they live, gather, and celebrate. At farmers markets and festivals, on busy neighborhood streets, and in conversations with tribes, government agencies, and environmental organizations, community members shared with us what clean water means to them and what they hope future generations will inherit. The Vision for Clean Water was developed from these voices, blending intergenerational experience with environmental hope.
At its heart, the Vision for Clean Water imagines this future:
Clean waters for vibrant communities. The Puget Sound region is swimmable, fishable, and full of life. Our high-quality, regional wastewater system is cared for by dedicated professionals and is affordable to everyone.
What we heard, and what we’re committed to:
We conducted community engagement work throughout the region, including Maple Valley Farmers Market, as we developed the Vision for Clean Water.
People across the region shared what they want their clean water future to look like, and their voices shaped six commitments that will guide how we deliver clean water services:
- Affordability: Keeping services financially sustainable and responsible.
- Partnerships: Working together regionally for shared success.
- Public health & environmental stewardship: Preventing pollution and re‑using resources.
- Reliability & resilience: Maintaining exceptional service and adapting to climate impacts.
- Transparency & accountability: Being open, responsive, and trustworthy.
- Workforce excellence: Supporting meaningful jobs and career pathways.
These commitments outline the specific ways we work together to deliver high quality, reliable wastewater services every day.
A Vision that builds on our past and prepares us for what’s ahead
Our region has made tremendous progress toward cleaner water over the past 60 years, including the adoption of the Regional Wastewater Services Plan in 1999. The services plan laid the foundation for a modern, reliable, and environmentally protective wastewater system, and transformed our region’s waters into community spaces and thriving ecosystems while ensuring millions of people could rely on safe, clean water every day. It also paved the way for the expansion of biosolids reuse, reclaimed water, and renewable energy.
Today, however, our system faces new and growing challenges, including aging infrastructure, rising costs, changing regulations, increased flooding, and a rapidly growing population. Communities also continue calling for equity, affordability, and resilience. The Vision considers all of these factors and will guide our work moving forward.
West Point Treatment Plant in Seattle is one of the largest plants on the West Coast.
One of the first major steps toward implementing the Vision is updating the Regional Wastewater Service Plan (Services Plan), which will serve as a roadmap for how we operate and invest in the system over the next 30 years. While the Vision describes what we want our future to look like by 2100, the Services Plan describes how fast we move toward that future and how we’ll get there.
Over the next several years, the update for Services Plan will connect directly back to the values and outcomes highlighted in the Vision. Community voices will continue shaping decisions around projects, operations, staffing needs, resource recovery, climate resilience, and more.
The Vision may be new, but the work isn’t.
Across the region, you can see early examples of the Vision in action:
- Resource recovery at CitySoil Farm, where biosolids and recycled water nourish soil and grow food.
- Climate resilience at the Georgetown Wet Weather Treatment Station, designed to handle major storm events.
- Operational excellence at West Point Treatment Plant, where a new battery backup system boosts safety and reliability.
- Partnerships with local businesses through the Industrial Waste Program to prevent pollution before it enters the system.
- Workforce training and mentorship in the Operator in Training Program, building the next generation of clean water professionals.
These examples show the Vision isn’t something we’ll start one day. It’s something happening right now, woven into daily operations and long‑term planning.
Learn more and stay connected.
The future belongs to all of us, and it starts by staying connected. We invite you to explore the Vision further and follow along as planning continues:
- Visit our website Vision for Clean Water
- Sign up here for updates about the Vision and Regional Wastewater Services Plan
- Contact us at VisionforCleanWater@kingcounty.gov
Discover more from King County Wastewater Treatment Division
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.