King County in ‘twinning’ agreement with Thailand Wastewater Management Authority
The "twinning" arrangement, signed Monday evening, is being facilitated by ECO-Asia, a regional program of the United States Agency for International Development.
"King County is seen as an international leader in the fields of wastewater treatment, climate change and public health," said King County Executive Ron Sims. "This twinning agreement presents an exciting opportunity to not only share best practices, but also hone our own staff’s skills."
Sims said King County supports local government exchanges of expertise and practical know-how where these efforts:
- improve local service delivery in King County by sharing best practices;
- make measurable improvements in public health and the environment;
- are sustainable, and;
- build capacity in the participating communities.
Established in 1995, Thailand’s WMA is a state-owned enterprise under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. WMA’s primary role is to help local governments to optimize, operate and maintain their wastewater facilities. WMA is currently working with 17 municipalities to rehabilitate and improve operation and maintenance policies and procedures.
A delegation from the Thailand WMA is visiting King County this week and will tour local wastewater treatment facilities.
Sims likened the local government "twinning" initiative to that of the "sister cities" programs.
"We are all familiar with the long-term relationships that have developed out of Sister Cities Programs, and this local government ‘twinning’ initiative take that kind of relationship a step further by bringing local governments together to tackle common issues," he said.
"This agreement provides an exciting opportunity for our wastewater treatment staff to share best practices," said Wastewater Management Division Director Christie True. "Wastewater treatment is a highly specialized field, and innovative programs like this enhance our ability to improve service delivery."
"By strengthening relationships with Thailand and other nations we have the opportunity to not only share our collective knowledge with each other, but also to better understand and serve our own communities in King County," Sims said.
"We live in an increasingly interconnected and international community," he said. "Flu epidemics are a plane ride away. Air pollutants from Asia appear on glaciers in the United States. Emissions of greenhouse gases from developed nations often disproportionately affect less-developed nations.
"By twinning with our partners, we are really helping ourselves create a cleaner planet," Sims said.