Brightwater outfall earns local ‘Project of the Year’ award

Commitment to the environment during the design and construction of Brightwater’s marine outfall earned King County a “Project of the Year” award from the state chapter of the American Public Works Association.

The project was recognized in the APWA’s environmental category for projects between $25 million and $75 million. King County will receive the award at the APWA’s National Public Works Week luncheon at the Bellevue Hilton on May 19.

King County awarded the design-build outfall contract to Triton Marine Construction Corporation in 2007. The firm completed construction a year ahead of schedule in late 2008 at a cost of $29 million, 23 percent less than the original estimate of $38 million.

King County and Vanir Construction Management managed the project.

Brightwater’s 600-foot-deep marine outfall is located in Puget Sound a mile off of Point Wells, and will serve as the discharge point for highly treated wastewater when the Brightwater plant begins operating in 2011. The county selected the site after years of environmental review that included detailed study of Puget Sound oceanography and marine biology as well as an extensive permitting process involving state and federal agencies.

Contractors adhered to stringent permitting regulations during both design and construction to protect the sensitive marine environment. Trench width was minimized to limit impacts to eelgrass, an “orca watch” was in put in place to monitor the presence of marine mammals so work could be suspended if they approached the construction area, and workers closely monitored water quality during underwater dredging and concrete installation in the nearshore area.

Other design-build project team firms included Dayton & Knight, manager of outfall design; Anchor Environmental, the lead firm on environmental permitting; and American Construction, which managed the assembly and towing of the outfall pipes.

Additional information about the Brightwater marine outfall, including video of the dramatic mile-long pipeline tow from Port of Everett to Point Wells, is available at http://your.kingcounty.gov/exec/news/2008/0909pipeline.aspx

People enjoy clean water and a healthy environment because of King County's wastewater treatment program. The county's Wastewater Treatment Division protects public health and water quality by serving 17 cities, 17 local sewer districts and more than 1.4 million residents in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. Formerly called Metro, the regional clean-water agency now operated by King County has been preventing water pollution for more than 40 years.

Note to editors and reporters: Visit the WTD Newsroom, a portal to information for the news media about the Wastewater Treatment Division, King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks: http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/wtd/Newsroom.aspx

This release is also posted on the Web site for the Department of Natural Resources and Parks at http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/dnrp.aspx

Related information

Brightwater marine outfall

Brightwater

King County Wastewater Treatment