Bothell, King County agree on ways to mitigate impact of Brightwater wastewater facilities

King County and the City of Bothell have agreed on city sewer, road and other improvements using county funds to mitigate the impact of building and operating Brightwater wastewater facilities in and near Bothell.

The Bothell City Council unanimously approved a memorandum of agreement June 27 between the city and county. King County is building Brightwater to treat wastewater from the growing population in Bothell and other areas of north King County and south Snohomish County.

"The city is very pleased with the outcome of our negotiations with King County," said Bothell Public Works Director Dave Zabell. "County staff were extremely attentive to concerns raised by the city and its residents throughout the negotiations."

"King County is committed to being a good neighbor in Bothell as we build and operate the regional Brightwater system," said Christie True, capital improvement program manager for the county's Wastewater Treatment Division. "Besides protecting public health and water quality, we want to protect public safety and enhance the environment affected by Brightwater."

During the past year, city and county staff have been negotiating to mitigate impacts the Brightwater project will have on people and businesses in Bothell. Mitigation provisions of the agreement take effect after it's signed by City Manager Bob Stowe.

The agreement includes these details:

• $500,000 to help pay for the 195th Street Sewer Replacement Project
• $1,775,000 to make traffic improvements and maintain the pavement structure along affected surface streets
• $2,500,000 to deal with possible construction and operating impacts of Brightwater within the city, as determined by the City Council in consultation with King County.

King County also committed to working with Bothell to find opportunities for using reclaimed water for irrigation in North Creek Valley. In addition, the county will use equipment and build sound walls that ensure construction noise stays below the surrounding noise level.

The Brightwater treatment plant will be located along state Highway 9 north of Woodinville. But for at least the next five years, the county plans to build other Brightwater facilities in Bothell. Those facilities include a wastewater tunnel portal and influent pump station in the Bothell Business Park at the southeast corner of the intersection of Northeast 195th Street and North Creek Parkway.

In addition, the county will build influent and effluent tunnels, including a separate reclaimed-water distribution pipeline for future use; connections to the existing North Creek pump station; and new permanent North Creek facilities supporting the Brightwater system.

When Brightwater begins operating in 2010, it will serve Bothell, Brier, Kenmore, Mill Creek, Redmond, Sammamish and Woodinville. It will also serve unincorporated areas of Snohomish and King counties in the Alderwood, Cross Valley, Northeast Sammamish, Northshore, Silver Lake and Woodinville sewer districts.

Formerly known as Metro, the wastewater-treatment utility now operated by King County has been preventing water pollution for 40 years. The regional clean-water agency serves 17 cities, 17 local sewer utilities and more than 1.4 million residents in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties.