Community open house Feb. 10 on preferred route for sewer line between Covington, Kent

2005 Archived News

King County representatives will explain the preferred route for a new sewer line between Covington and Kent at a community open house in Covington on Thursday, Feb. 10.

This project is part of a 2002 agreement between King County and Soos Creek Water and Sewer District to identify and make sewer system improvements that further protect public health and the environment in south King County. The improvements will provide enough capacity to support planned growth, consistent with the state's Growth Management Act.

The meeting is scheduled to run from 6:30-8:30 p.m., with a presentation at 7 p.m., at Covington Elementary School, 17070 S.E. Wax Road.

At the meeting, people can learn about reasons for selecting the preferred pipeline corridor and review potential sites for a new wastewater pump station in Covington. They'll also be invited to express their ideas and questions about the project. The facilities are part of the county's Soos Creek Pump Station D and Pipeline Project.

The county's Wastewater Treatment Division is following a phased approach to design and carry out system improvements. The plan calls for expanding the existing regional wastewater conveyance system to meet the growing demand for sewer service in Covington, Maple Valley and Black Diamond. Served by the Soos Creek Water and Sewer District, those areas are within the county's urban growth boundary.

King County will design the new regional facilities to provide flexibility to handle south county population growth and make the best use of both county and Soos Creek facilities for the next 50 years.

The Soos Creek project includes siting and building about 20,000 feet of sewers from the new pump station to a connection with the county's existing Southeast 277th Street Interceptor Sewer in Kent. The new pipeline will range from 10 to 48 inches in diameter.

The proposed pipeline route runs east-west mostly along the south end of Covington and Kent and then north into Kent mostly along 118th Avenue Southeast to the existing sewer at Southeast 274th Street.

The project also involves siting and building Pump Station D on about 1 acre in Covington. King County is studying possible locations east of 160th Avenue Southeast, north of 164th Place Southeast and near Covington Way Southeast. The pump station will have a capacity of 10 million to 26 million gallons per day.

To request more information, arrange reasonable meeting accommodations for someone with a disability, or be added to the project mailing list, contact Jennifer Kauffman at 206-263-6029 (TTY relay: 711) or through e-mail. You can also visit the project Web site.

King County's Wastewater Treatment Division serves 18 cities, 16 local sewer agencies and more than 1.4 million residents in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. Formerly known as Metro, the regional wastewater-treatment utility has been preventing water pollution for 40 years.