The Georgetown station as viewed from the intersection.

The first Envision Platinum sustainability award in the state

King County’s Georgetown Wet Weather Treatment Station (WWTS) earned the coveted “Platinum” designation from the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure’s Envision rating system. This is the first Platinum-awarded Envision project in Washington and recognizes the County’s commitment to sustainable communities and the environment. The Georgetown WWTS project in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood will treat up to 70…

Well KEPT youth employees wear masks and safety vest as they help build a trail detour

Building a path for the future during a challenging time

At King County Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD), we consider it a win whenever we can partner with local agencies and organizations to accomplish a goal. In 2021, WTD’s partners at City of Bellevue Parks navigated the ongoing pandemic to create a big win for trail users and youth employment. WTD’s Coal Creek Sewer Upgrade Project…

Banner with a photo of Lake WA and Mt Rainier and text that says construction in Mercer Island & Bellevue to start early 2022

Major construction in Mercer Island & Bellevue to start early next year

Our relationship to water is what makes this region special.  King County is a partner in this relationship. Regional wastewater treatment plays a key role in keeping our rivers, lakes, streams, and the Puget Sound clean for people and aquatic life. We manage a big regional wastewater system that needs regular inspection, maintenance, and upgrades…

Green roof at Sunset Pump Station

Making projects sustainable, resilient, and equitable

King County’s Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD) is being recognized for its commitment to sustainable communities and the environment. WTD’s Sunset / Heathfield Pump Stations and force main upgrade project was awarded an Envision® Silver Award this month for project sustainability. This is the second Envision-certified project for the region’s wastewater utility. In 2018, King County’s…

Aerial view of the West Point Treatment Plant

Charging ahead with reliable battery power for West Point Treatment Plant

The West Point Treatment Plant processes about 100 million gallons of wastewater each day, and up to 440 million gallons during heavy rains. While the plant’s operators are working hard to keep the treatment process flowing smoothly, a momentary lapse of power supply quality can bring vital equipment operations to a hard stop.   That’s why in February 2021, King County Executive Dow Constantine signed an emergency declaration and the King County Council authorized up to $65 million to provide West Point with more reliable power. The team…

Construction of a wastewater facility

Wastewater employees’ thoughtful approach earns industry award

Our employees plan, design, build, and operate treatment facilities to clean wastewater for the region. Planning and building new wastewater infrastructure is complex. It can easily take a decade or more to go from identifying a project is needed, to cutting the ribbon on a newly completed facility. Each project goes through several phases of…

Starting a decade of improvements at West Point Treatment Plant

Built in 1966, West Point Treatment Plant is the largest wastewater treatment plant by volume in Washington state, and the third largest by average daily flow on the West Coast. Like much of the King County wastewater system, it’s more than 55 years old and many of its components reach their “end of life” each…

workers planting trees

Planting trees is part of restoring construction sites

Restoring natural areas after construction is an important part of our work. When we work on improving or fixing the regional sewer system, sometimes impacts are unavoidable. When construction impacts sensitive areas and landscapes, our contractor restores the site before the project is complete. That’s what happened at Discovery Park in Seattle, and this spring…

Lake Sammamish

Working with Sammamish Plateau: No regional capacity limits and Diversion Project moving ahead

We clean wastewater for the region Pipes from homes and businesses in this area connect to local sewer systems. Then those local utility pipes connect to our bigger pipes, which carry wastewater to one of our regional treatment plants where we clean it. The local agencies own and operate their independent collection systems. The local…