March public meetings focus on water quality

Residents welcomed to review plans, provide input on projects to control storm-related sewer overflows

People interested in learning about upcoming projects to control combined sewer overflows at four areas along Puget Sound are invited to a series of public meetings hosted by King County’s Wastewater Treatment Division.

Combined sewer overflows, or CSOs, occur in older parts of Seattle where pipes were built decades ago to convey both sewage and stormwater. During heavy rains, these pipes fill to capacity and overflow into local water bodies.

To protect public health and the environment, King County is making it a priority to control CSOs at popular recreation areas in West Seattle, North Beach and Magnolia where people play and swim.

The meetings will enable people to learn more about the three alternatives proposed for each location, ask questions, and provide input that will be used to guide the county’s selection of a preferred alternative.

• Thursday, March 18 -- Barton Pump Station CSO project area, Southwest Community Center, 2801 SW Thistle St., Seattle, 6-8:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, March 23 -- South Magnolia CSO project area, Magnolia Community Center, 2550 34th Ave. W., Seattle, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
• Monday, March 29 -- Murray Pump Station CSO project area, Southwest Community Center, 2801 SW Thistle St., Seattle, 6-8:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, March 30 -- North Beach Pump Station CSO project area, Loyal Heights Community Center, 2101 NW 77th St., Seattle, 6-8:30 p.m.

The county also welcomes input from people who are unable to attend the meetings. Interested community members are invited to visit the project Web site at www.kingcounty.gov/csobeachprojects, review information and complete online forms. People can also share input by e-mail at CSOBeachProjects@kingcounty.gov or by calling Wastewater Treatment Division environmental planner Meredith Redmon at 206-263-6534, or TTY 711.

The county is expected to identify a preferred alternative final for each project area by early summer 2010, which will be followed by an environmental review under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) and additional opportunities for public comment.

For questions about the meetings, or to request reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities, please contact Monica van der Vieren at 206-263-3701 or 711 TTY, or e-mail monica.vandervieren@kingcounty.gov.

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.

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.

Related information

Puget Sound Beach CSO Control Projects

King County Wastewater Treatment