Year in review - 2002Meeting future demand for services King County launched the environmental review process for siting Brightwater, a new regional treatment plant, in early 2002. In spring, WTD provided information about the project to 60,000 interested residents, businesses, groups, and property owners in the potential siting area. Communities that might be affected by pipeline routes associated with building the Brightwater Treatment Plant received information during the summer. In August, the County Executive announced his preferred alternative: a site near the intersection of State Routes 9 and 522 in south Snohomish County, with conveyance pipelines generally following 195th Street in King County . A draft environmental impact statement was issued in November that analyzed the preferred alternative as well as two others. The public was invited to comment at meetings and hearings in December. >>back to top Maintaining and improving the system- Seeking low-interest loans for capital projects. WTD continued its aggressive program to ensure investments made with ratepayers dollars are maintained and improved where necessary. In 2002, WTD sought and received nearly $90 million in low-interest state loans to help finance future capital projects.
- Beginning construction in Rainier Beach to control sewer overflows. WTD awarded a construction contract in July to build a two-mile-long, $48 million CSO project in the Rainier Beach neighborhood. The project is part of a plan to almost eliminate CSOs into Lake Washington by increasing the amount of flow the system can carry and store.
- Completing a long tunnel to control Lake Union , Elliott Bay overflows. In the South Lake Union neighborhood, tunneling work near Denny Way to create a Mercer Street tunnel was completed in March. This 1.25-mile-long tunnel will provide storage capacity and provide major new protections from CSOs into Elliott Bay. Late in the year, crews began work on another CSO project that, when completed in 2004, will control CSOs that occur in Elliott Bay and Lake Union .
- Choosing projects for preventing leaks into sewer system. In addition, WTD worked with local sewer districts and cities to identify 10 pilot projects to reduce "infiltration and inflow" of clean water into the sewer system. Most inflow comes from stormwater, and most infiltration from groundwater. Reducing extra water in the sewer system is an important way of preventing overflows and ultimately keeping rates as low as possible.
>>back to top Protecting natural habitatWTD's Habitat Conservation Plan examines potential environmental impacts that may affect species listed or likely to be listed as threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. Working with ESA officials, WTD staff drafted significant portions of the HCP in 2002. The plan will identify how WTD can avoid, minimize or mitigate any potential impacts caused by WTD's activities to threatened or endangered species. >>back to top Achieving exceptional productivity savingsThe County Executive and Council approved WTD's Productivity Initiative Pilot Plan in 2001. It authorized WTD to apply some aspects of a private sector approach to the wastewater program, specifically by establishing annual savings targets for a 10-year period. Proven savings achieved above those targets would be eligible for inclusion in an Incentive Fund to be shared equally between ratepayers and WTD employees. In early 2002, the first full year of the Pilot Plan, WTD reorganized to better align the organization to meet its productivity goals of "becoming the best public wastewater utility by 2005 and as competitive as any private wastewater operation by 2010."
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