Seattle & King County Boost Water Quality Projects Amid Fines
Seattle and King County are investing heavily in water quality projects to combat polluted stormwater and sewage. The Ship Canal Water Quality Project, costing $710 million, aims to prevent over 75 million gallons of pollutants from entering local waters annually. However, recent fines highlight ongoing challenges and the need for continued efforts.
King County faces a $52,500 penalty in 2024 due to issues at its wet weather treatment stations and other compliance shortcomings. This follows a combined $87,500 in fines for both Seattle and King County for water quality permit breaches and consent decree violations related to sewer issues. Seattle accrued a $35,000 fine for multiple sanitary sewer overflow events in 2024.
To tackle these challenges, Seattle Public Utilities has completed over 50 projects in the last decade to reduce combined sewer overflows, with no more than four sanitary sewer overflows per 100 miles of sewer per year. Seattle and King County have planned major projects, including upgrading and expanding their combined sewer overflow (CSO) control systems, with key projects expected to be completed by the mid-2030s. King County's Georgetown Wet Weather Treatment Station, a $275 million project, treated an estimated 32 million gallons of polluted water in its first full year of operation in 2023. King County is investing over $11 billion over the next decade to comply with regulations and upgrade its aging infrastructure.
The penalty money will be split between the Washington State Department of Ecology and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Modified consent decrees give Seattle and King County more time to develop larger, climate-resilient projects and shift priorities to complete projects in the lower Duwamish River area first, with a new deadline of 2037 for controlling all overflow points. Despite recent fines, these investments and projects demonstrate a commitment to improving water quality in the region.
