Community meeting April 20 on Hidden Lake sewer construction plans beginning this summer

2005 Archived News

Representatives of King County's Wastewater Treatment Division will explain plans for the Hidden Lake Sewer Improvement Project during a community meeting Wednesday, April 20. Project construction, scheduled to begin this summer, is planned to further protect public health and water quality.

 

The meeting will run from 6:30-8:30, with a presentation at 7 p.m., at Sunset Elementary School, 17800 10th Ave. N.W.

"We're committed to being good neighbors during this important construction project," said County Councilmember Carolyn Edmonds. "We want to hear from neighbors before construction gets under way. The preconstruction meeting will be a good chance for us to talk directly with residents about minimizing impacts and respond to their questions and concerns."

Besides holding the April 20 meeting, King County will brief community groups about the project, provide advance notice of construction work, and operate a 24-hour telephone line on construction information. The project will take about 2 1/2 years, ending by 2008.

"The new Hidden Lake facilities will be more reliable and have higher capacity to better serve the community," said Gunars Sreibers, manager of the wastewater conveyance program. "A new pump station and sewer line will replace aging facilities that don't provide enough capacity."

The City of Shoreline will be receiving $1.1 million in mitigation funding from King County to compensate for community disruption during construction, loss of park use and the city's costs associated with the project's design and construction.

"Maintaining and improving infrastructure for our citizens has always been a focus of the city," said Shoreline Mayor Ron Hansen. "In addition to upgrading to our sewer system, city staff has been working on design improvements to Boeing Creek Park and the construction of a new neighborhood park in Richmond Beach that will be entirely funded by mitigation funds from King County. This 'partnership' with King County will result in much needed utility and park improvements to benefit the citizens of Shoreline."

Construction of the new Hidden Lake Pump Station is expected to begin this summer, followed this fall by construction of a new wastewater storage pipe in Boeing Creek Park. Construction of the Boeing Creek trunk sewer will begin later this year.

Hidden Lake Pump Station

The existing pump station, at the corner of 10th Avenue Northwest and Northwest Innis Arden Way, is nearly 40 years old and under capacity to meet local needs. The station also does not meet current design standards for county pump stations, including odor and noise control standards.

The pumping capacity of the new station, to be built on county property next to the existing station, will increase from 4.3 million to 6.8 million gallons per day. Public comment influenced the design of the pump station and landscaping.

Construction of the facility, which includes one underground floor, will take about 2 1/2 years. The existing pump station will continue operating during construction.

Wastewater Storage Pipe

The new underground pipe at the northeast end of Boeing Creek Park will temporarily store wastewater during peak storms. King County will build the 500,000-gallon storage pipe under and next to the city's existing stormwater facility. The pipe will also replace an existing 24-inch sewer in Boeing Creek Park owned by the Ronald Wastewater District.

The new storage pipe will be 12 feet in diameter and about 640 feet long, running from about Third Avenue Northwest to Northwest 175th Street. The county will also replace 1,000 feet of smaller pipe in the street near the park.

"We selected this location after detailed analysis of many storage alternatives and consultation with the city," Sreibers said. "Working in the park will minimize traffic impacts and street closures."

King County is coordinating construction of the storage pipe with construction of city improvements to the Boeing Creek drainage basin that are part of Shoreline's Third Avenue Northwest Drainage Improvement Project. After the county completes the storage pipe, the city plans to improve its existing stormwater facility in Boeing Creek Park and make park improvements.

The county and city will maintain access to the park during construction. And the park will be restored after construction ends for both projects in about two years.

The county will also be microtunneling a new sewer in the street near the intersection of Sixth Avenue Northwest, Northwest 175th Street and Tenth Avenue Northwest. Tenth Northwest will be closed to through traffic for up to three months, but the county will provide local and emergency access at all times.

Boeing Creek Trunk Sewer

Later this year, King County will begin replacing about 12,000 feet of the Boeing Creek trunk sewer. It runs generally south to north under 15th Avenue Northwest, 14th Avenue Northwest, and adjoining streets and east to west under Northwest 188th, 190th and 196th streets.

Sections of the existing sewer are in poor condition and under capacity. Past relining has restored some corroded sections of the sewer but also reduced its capacity. And the corrosion has continued. Concrete in some sections of pipe has corroded down to the steel reinforcing.

King County will build the sewer in sections about 200 feet long. In each section, the contractor will dig a trench to install new sewer pipes that are 15 to 30 inches in diameter. In other words, the entire 12,000 feet of sewer will not be under construction at one time.

Work will be completed in one section at a time, then advance to the next section. Most work will take place in the street right-of-way. King County is also developing a traffic management plan with the city. Traffic control signs and flaggers will direct vehicles safely through the work area.

After work is completed, the county will restore and improve the street by installing a full-width asphalt overlay and 4-foot asphalt shoulder along portions of the sewer pipe route.

Questions?

For more information about the Hidden Lake project or to arrange accessible meeting accommodations, contact Jennifer Kauffman at 206-263-6029. You may also visit the project Web site.

For more information about Shoreline's drainage improvement project, call City Engineer Jill Marilley at 206-546-8887.

King County's Wastewater Treatment Division protects public health and water quality by serving 17 cities, 17 local sewer agencies and more than 1.4 million residents in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. Formerly called Metro, the regional public utility has been preventing water pollution for 40 years.