King County Wastewater Treatment Division

Two workers, wearing safety helmets and orange vests, are carefully positioning a large solar panel onto a rooftop installation framework under a bright, clear blue sky.

Sustainability

May 24, 2024

Powering Sustainability: WTD boosts solar capacity for a bright future

King County Wastewater Treatment Division has always been at the forefront of sustainability. Our early initiatives, such as Loop biosolids land application, renewable natural gas production from our digester, and sewer heat recovery, set the stage for our latest venture…

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A group of cheerful people walking on an outdoor footbridge on a sunny day. They are dressed in casual outdoor gear suitable for a hike, with three of them holding binoculars and another holding a notepad. The trees behind them are without leaves, indicating an early spring setting.

Community

March 20, 2024

Birding at a Wastewater Treatment Facility? Brightwater Becomes a Hot Spot for Feathered Friends

The Brightwater Treatment Plant in Woodinville, with its 70-acre mix of fields, ponds, and trails, has evolved into a birdwatching haven, attracting over 130 bird species and earning a reputation as a top spot for young birders.

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A group of people, with one man gesturing enthusiastically, engage in a conversation at an indoor event about sustaining the environment, as indicated by the King County banners in the background

Community

March 19, 2024

New wastewater infrastructure projects connect communities to ‘green wave’ of jobs

King County's WTD is leveraging infrastructure projects like the West Duwamish Wet Weather Storage Project to foster job opportunities in the sustainability sector, addressing community desires for environmental jobs and education as part of inclusive workforce development partnerships in green…

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People WTD Updates

February 16, 2024

Brightwater Center is now the Christie True Environmental Education Center — Who is Christie True?

The newly named Christie True Environmental Education Center honors the enduring legacy of King County's longest-serving director, celebrating decades of dedication to water quality and community enrichment.

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A forklift lifts a tall, boxed package off the pavement. The package is strapped to a wooden pallet and wrapped in clear plastic. The day is overcast and the pavement is wet, as if it had just recently rained. The forklift is flanked by an employee on each side, both wearing bright yellow safety jackets, white hardhats, gloves, safety glasses and dark pants. Various other trucks and vehicles sit in the background of the image.

Infrastructure

December 15, 2023

Giant packages of batteries arrive at West Point, giving the gift of clean water

West Point Treatment Plant has been busy lately receiving truckloads of special deliveries. The giant packages contain the solution to a problem that has plagued the plant for decades.

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A gritty looking action figure sits on a concrete ledge above one of WestPoint’s engine rooms. The character is a white storm trooper from the movie Star Wars. His white suit and helmet are dirty. The concrete ledge that he sits on an off-white color and has many scuffs and scratches, the ledge takes up the bottom third of the photo, with a soft-focus view of an engine room in the distance and behind the action figure. The engine room is a floor down, it has three large engines that are a bright burnt orange color. The pipes and equipment connecting to the engine are a turquoise color that resembles Statue of Liberty’s color. Some grey and yellow piping and equipment are also visible throughout the room.

Operations WTD Updates

November 17, 2023

West Point’s odd collection of adorable mischief-makers displays so many careless flushes

Kids and adults alike are constantly flushing the darndest of objects down their toilet bowls. Some of these things – like wipes, napkins, condoms, and tampons – are well known culprits that clog pipes, jam up equipment, and gunk up…

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A male worker in a yellow safety vest, black hardhat, and clear safety glasses stands to the right of a large, metallic, frame filled with tons of white strings. The frame is being attached to a metal brace by a man on a ladder. The brace is connected to a large yellow crane that sits overhead. A partly cloudy sky makes up the background.

Infrastructure

October 18, 2023

It’s a whale of a job replacing the membrane filters at Brightwater Treatment Plant

What do whales and wastewater treatment have in common? A visit to Brightwater Treatment Plant in Woodinville explains it all.

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A group of the interns observe and take notes at one of the South Treatment Plants clarifiers. They stand along the rails of the clarifier, which is full of water and reflects the overcast sky that makes up the background. The students are wearing safety vests and hardhats.

Community

September 15, 2023

Swapping backpacks for hardhats, a summer job like no other

King County has been partnering with the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust since 2016, as part the Wastewater Treatment Division’s efforts to cultivate the next generation of clean water professionals and to build more ties to communities in our service…

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Workers wearing neon safety vests and hard hats load a wastewater pump onto a truck.

Infrastructure

August 23, 2023

Massive Pumps at West Point Treatment Plant Get a Tune Up

The pumps that push wastewater through West Point Treatment Plant in Seattle are massive and old. In service since 1993, it was time for a tune-up. By tapping into the expertise of local repair shops, the project was fast tracked…

Marie Fiore

Sustainability

August 20, 2023

Uprooted and transplanted, Max and his trees find new homes

People from around the world have found themselves calling King County home, with only an estimated three in ten Seattle area adults born in Washington. One of these Seattle transplants is Max Solis, who uprooted from Los Angeles in 2019.…

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Community

July 19, 2023

As Duwamish River is made cleaner, local artists help community connect to its waters

The Duwamish River has many sides to it – industrial corridor, habitat for migrating salmon, ancestral waters for the people who have long inhabited its shores and waters. Two local artists have been commissioned to capture the complexity of the…

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Operations

July 6, 2023

Mad scientist in the woods? Or, just another day at Vashon Treatment Plant

Elizabeth (Lizzy) Corliss has run the Vashon Treatment Plant for the last four years. Blink and you’d probably miss the driveway into Vashon Treatment Plant. Everything about this plant is pint-sized, a much scaled-down version of the massive clean water…

Marie Fiore

Clean Water Stories

from King County

Powering Sustainability: WTD boosts solar capacity for a bright future

Birding at a Wastewater Treatment Facility? Brightwater Becomes a Hot Spot for Feathered Friends

New wastewater infrastructure projects connect communities to ‘green wave’ of jobs

Brightwater Center is now the Christie True Environmental Education Center — Who is Christie True?

Giant packages of batteries arrive at West Point, giving the gift of clean water

West Point’s odd collection of adorable mischief-makers displays so many careless flushes

It’s a whale of a job replacing the membrane filters at Brightwater Treatment Plant

Swapping backpacks for hardhats, a summer job like no other

Massive Pumps at West Point Treatment Plant Get a Tune Up

Uprooted and transplanted, Max and his trees find new homes

As Duwamish River is made cleaner, local artists help community connect to its waters

Mad scientist in the woods? Or, just another day at Vashon Treatment Plant

Clean Water Stories

from King County

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