A history of public involvement

Local public involvement in water pollution control began in 1956 when a group of residents became concerned about the effects of rapid urban growth, especially a deteriorating Lake Washington.

As population grew in communities around the lake, effluent from small sewage treatment plants around the lake caused considerable algae growth in the lake. That led to a decline in water transparency.

Green scum could often be seen on the lake surface, and in summer the unpleasant odor of dying algae was in the air.

Simultaneously, raw sewage was fouling saltwater beaches in Elliott Bay and other parts of Puget Sound.

Those conditions prompted residents to begin a three-year study of metropolitan problems. Following that study, citizens drafted a state law that would allow local governments to form metropolitan federations to solve problems that cross boundaries of cities, counties and special districts.

After passage of that law, citizen activists went to the voters twice in 1958, eventually winning approval of a solution to the area's most pressing problem: water pollution.

With endorsements from both major political parties, the mayors of all 11 incorporated cities and all major civic groups, the measure passed with a 58 percent yes vote in Seattle and 67 percent approval in suburban areas.

In 1965, the new Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle, or Metro, began operating its first regional wastewater treatment plant, in Renton. And its second plant, at West Point in Seattle, began operating in 1966.

After completing its first round of construction, Metro reduced effluent discharges to Lake Washington from 20 million gallons a day to zero in February 1968. The lake's transparency, as low as 30 inches in 1964, was 10 feet in 1968. And by 1977, the lake was clearer than ever before in its recorded history. More information about the history of Lake Washington.

The agency's new Elliott Bay interceptor sewer system, finished in 1970, and continuing sewer system upgrades have led to measurable water quality improvements to Seattle's commercial waterfront.