Sewer workers quickly stop overflow caused by power outage

King County's sewer utility staff worked quickly Sunday morning, Oct. 24, after a Seattle City Light power outage caused the small Barton Street Pump Station to overflow into Puget Sound near the Fauntleroy ferry dock. After getting a warning of the outage, workers hauled a portable generator to the station and had it pumping wastewater again less than 15 minutes after the overflow began.

An estimated 9,100 gallons of wastewater overflowed from the station, which typically pumps 2 million gallons a day to the county's West Point Treatment Plant. The overflow discharged about 620 feet from the beach.

King County crews took water samples and posted a health warning on the beach. They also contacted regulatory officials with the health department and state Department of Ecology.

King County will begin construction to install an on-site emergency generator at this pump station by the summer of 2006 depending on construction scheduling.

King County's Wastewater Treatment Division protects public health and water quality by serving 18 cities, 15 sewer districts and more than 1.4 million residents in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. The regional utility now operated by King County has been preventing water pollution for nearly 40 years.