Construction - North Creek Portal

North Creek Portal / Influent Pump Station (IPS) site and construction activities

Located at North Creek Parkway and NE 195th Street in Bothell.

In response to growth in our region, King County is building a new wastewater treatment system called Brightwater to serve north King and south Snohomish counties. Brightwater construction activities are centered at five sites: the treatment plant site in Snohomish County near Woodinville; and four conveyance construction sites—called portals—in Bothell, Shoreline, Kenmore, and at Point Wells in unincorporated Snohomish County. Underground tunneling is well underway between the portals and generally not visible above ground. Construction on the entire project started in 2005. Treatment plant start-up and operations will begin in 2011, with the entire system scheduled to be completed in 2012.

Construction in Bothell is centered at the North Creek Portal Site located in the Bothell Business Park on the corner of Northeast 195th Street and North Creek Parkway. Activities at this site began in 2006.

Brightwater portals and pipelines - The system of pipes that transport wastewater to the treatment plant and treated wastewater to Puget Sound is called the conveyance system. To limit construction impacts, the Brightwater conveyance pipelines are being built almost entirely below ground in tunnels approximately 40 to 440 feet below the surface. Portals are the access shafts where workers, machines, and equipment enter and exit the tunnels during construction. Portals are also where excavated material is removed. There are four portals located along the conveyance line. A fifth is located on the treatment plant site.

Portal and tunnel construction - Tunnel boring machines, or TBMs, are being used to mine tunnels for the more than 13 miles of the conveyance system. These large machines do their work underground, excavating the tunnel and installing a concrete lining as they go. The first of Brightwater's four large bore TBMs was launched from the North Creek portal in September 2007 and completed in winter 2008. Another TBM is currently tunneling from the Kenmore portal to North Creek portal. See right side bar for project updates.

New pump station - In early 2008, Kiewit Pacific began work on the Influent Pump Station (IPS) at this site. The IPS will be a two-story above ground and three-level below ground facility, reaching a depth of 75 feet. When completed, the pump station will send untreated wastewater to the plant for treatment. IPS is being built mostly underground in much of the space that was used for tunnel access and is designed to fit into the surrounding business park. It will include a new public art installation. The IPS is scheduled to be completed in 2012 and is the final phase of work at this site.

Pipelines connecting to the existing North Creek Pump Station - Two completed pipelines now connect the North Creek Portal Site and the existing North Creek Pump Station at 18707 North Creek Parkway (south of the portal site). One pipe will bring wastewater to the new pump station to be sent to Brightwater for treatment. The second will deliver reclaimed water (highly treated wastewater suitable for irrigation and industry) from Brightwater to users in Bothell and the Sammamish Valley. It is installed under the sidewalk on the east side of North Creek Parkway.

Permanent Facilities

Permanent facilities will include the pump station, electrical and odor control facilities and reclaimed water pipelines. The facilities will be attractively designed and landscaped and include a public art installation.

What can you expect during construction?

King County is committed to being a good neighbor and continues to work to minimize impacts to nearby residents and businesses during construction. However, people may sometimes experience increased truck traffic, some lane closures, construction noise, potential vibrations and dust. To minimize these potential impacts we have installed a screening wall around the North Creek portal site, implemented a traffic management plan approved by the City of Bothell, are working to control erosion and are making sure that trucks do not track dirt or mud from the site.

Contact us if you need more information about Brightwater

For construction-related questions and urgent issues, contact the construction information line at 206-205-5989 (remember to dial 911 for emergencies)

For general questions and information about Brightwater call 206-263-9453, or 711 for TTY access, or email us at: brightwater@kingcounty.gov

King County Brightwater Project
22505 State Route 9
Woodinville, WA 98072
E-mail: Brightwater
Phone: 206-263-9453
TTY Relay: 711

Driving directions to Brightwater project office.

>>>Return to construction activities

Construction updates - June 2011

project construction photos

Installation of architectural finishes on exterior building walls is underway. Interior floor and wall work is also occurring, along with installation of mechanical and electrical systems. The pump station is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2011.

Mining for Brightwater's East Tunnel was completed in late 2008, the first of four large-bore tunnel drives to be done. Crews installed the pipe system inside the tunnel and completed backfilling the tunnel in summer 2010.

In June 2010 the tunneling machine from the North Kenmore portal arrived at this site and was removed from the ground.

Location map for North Creek Portal