King County puts corrective measures in place at West Point Treatment Plant following Dec. overflow

Executive Constantine directs wastewater to continue review of chain of events and continue improvements to standard operating procedures

Mandatory retraining, staff reassignments and explicit instruction in standard operating procedures are among the “no-excuses” corrective measures now in place at the West Point Treatment Plant following last month’s sewage overflow.

“I’ve made it clear, and our wastewater managers agree, that this incident was unnecessary and unacceptable, and that the division must be accountable,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. “I’ve asked the division to review the chain of events that led to the overflow and to take a hard look at their operating procedures, and I will be following up to make sure any necessary reforms are made.”

An investigation by the division concurs with findings from the Washington State Department of Ecology that operator error allowed the release of 8.7 million gallons of raw sewage into Puget Sound the night of Dec. 14. The Department of Ecology today announced its decision to fine King County $24,000 over the incident.

“The penalty is tough but fair, and we accept Ecology’s findings because the overflow was serious,” said Wastewater Treatment Division Director Christie True. “We also agree with Executive Constantine on the importance of accountability and have enacted corrective measures to ensure that standard operating procedures are followed.”

True said the overflow began when employees prepared an emergency bypass gate to open automatically during rainy weather to prevent high, rapid flows from damaging equipment or injuring workers. An electrical problem caused the bypass gate to open, though the county’s investigation indicates that operators could have taken steps to prevent or minimize the duration and amount of overflow.

In response to the overflow, employees notified regulatory agencies, took water quality samples and closed public access to the North Beach recreation area near Discovery Park. Laboratory samples showed a progressive improvement in water quality within days after the overflow, and the beach was reopened four days later.

The West Point Treatment Plant came online in 1966 and treats an average of 130 million gallons of wastewater a day for Seattle and several other cities and sewer districts in north and central King County. The plant can treat up to 440 million gallons of stormwater and wastewater during heavy rains.

More information about the West Point plant and the Wastewater Treatment Division is available on the Web at http://www.kingcounty.gov/wtd.

Related information

West Point Treatment Plant

King County Wastewater Treatment