County hosts informational meeting on its combined sewer overflow control plan, Nov. 9

Learn about and comment on plan strategy, proposed projects and schedules

People are invited to a public meeting to learn about King County’s recommended plan to control its remaining 14 combined sewer overflow (CSOs) locations by building nine proposed projects in Seattle.

Wednesday, Nov. 9 -- 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Seattle REI Flagship Store Meeting Room
222 Yale Ave. N.
Seattle

Free parking in the REI store garage from 6:15 to 8 p.m. for registered meeting attendees.

CSOs occur when pipes designed long ago to carry both stormwater and sewage fill to capacity during heavy rains and overflow into local water bodies, which can put public health and the environment at risk. King County’s plan lays out a strategy to control these overflows to the state standard of no more than one event per year at each location.

County staff are looking to get public feedback on the overall plan, the projects being proposed, as well as project sequence and scheduling and whether other project alternatives should be considered.

The meeting will feature an open house with a formal presentation to begin at 6:45 p.m. followed by opportunities for the public to ask questions and discuss the plan with Wastewater Treatment Division staff.

Comments received will help shape decisions in developing a recommended CSO control plan that the King County Executive will submit to the King County Council for review in March 2012. A final plan is expected to be adopted by the County Council in August 2012.

People can obtain copies of the “Recommended Combined Sewer Overflow Control Plan”, supporting technical documents and comment forms on the Web at http://www.kingcounty.gov/csocontrol.
 
Since the 1980s, King County has successfully controlled two-thirds of its 38 CSOs where stormwater and wastewater overflows occur during heavy rains, reducing volumes of uncontrolled CSOs in our waterways by more than 70 percent.

The remaining projects are expected to be among the most complex and expensive, estimated to cost $711 million (in 2010 dollars). In addition to cost, the plan presents many factors for people to consider including the program schedule, CSO control methods, potential neighborhood impacts and project sequence. The deadline for submitting comments on the proposed plan is Dec. 31, 2011.

To request a paper copy of the 24-page plan document or for additional information about the recommended plan, comment opportunities, or to request reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities at the meeting, please contact Dana West in King County’s Wastewater Treatment Division at 206-684-1097, 711 TTY or email review.cso@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

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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, the environment and the economy by serving 17 cities, 17 local sewer districts and more than 1.5 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 nearly 50 years.

Related information

Combined Sewer Overflow Control Program

King County Wastewater Treatment