Murray CSO control project
April 2013 Update -- Coming to your neighborhood: a cleaner Puget Sound
King County submitted its design for the Murray Combined Sewer Overflow Control Facility to the Washington State Department of Ecology in December 2012. The facility’s one-million gallon storage tank will be built across from Lowman Beach Park and will help keep Puget Sound clean by storing excess sewage and stormwater during storms for reentry into the County conveyance systems for treatment, once storms have passed. Existing structures will be deconstructed as early as late spring and construction will begin in late 2013. To learn more, view project update (PDF, April 2013).
Final Design, December 2012
Murray basin and project location
Project description
King County is designing an underground storage tank across the street from Seattle’s Lowman Beach Park. The tank will store approximately one million gallons when the Murray Pump Station exceeds maximum capacity.
Why do we need this project?
Protect public health
Like many cities around the country (external link), the older parts of King County's wastewater system uses a single set of pipes to carry untreated sewage and stormwater to a treatment plant. To prevent sewer backups into homes and streets, the system includes safety valves called “combined sewer overflows” that route excess sewage and sewage flow directly into Puget Sound during storms. Although CSOs reduce potential exposure to untreated sewage, they pose significant public health concerns.
Clean up Puget Sound
The Murray CSO control facility will reduce CSOs into Puget Sound. State regulations require no more than one untreated discharge per year. The Murray Pump Station averages five untreated CSO events per year, discharging 5 million gallons into Puget Sound off of Lowman Beach Park.
Project Schedule
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December 30, 2010
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Submited draft Facility Plan to Department of Ecology |
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April-May 2011
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SEPA threshold determined and public comment period |
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Summer 2011
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Design team formed |
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Fall 2011
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Ecology approves Facility Plan |
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Fall 2011
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Community outreach begins (view meeting calendar) |
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Fall 2011-Fall 2012
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Permitting |
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March 2012
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Preliminary design complete |
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Spring 2012
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Materials salvaged from onsite buildings |
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Summer 2012
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Hazardous materials removed from buildings |
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Fall 2012
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Onsite buildings deconstructed |
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2012
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King County submits final design to Ecology for approval |
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2013-2016
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Construction |
View project meeting calendar.
How has the community shaped facility design?
Since October 2011 Lowman Beach Park neighbors and park users have worked with local designers, environmentalists and community advocates to help the King County project team design a facility that fits with the community. These discussions produced “common themes” for the design that reflect the community’s values for a safe, reliable facility. The common themes are:
- Minimize the “industrial facility” feel
- Encourage views of Puget Sound
- Discourage through traffic on Beach Drive
- Enhance continuous space between Lowman Beach park and the facility site
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