Sewer overflow violations cost Seattle, King County thousands of dollars

Seattle and King County were penalized for sewer overflow violations, according to the Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Seattle faces a total penalty of $71,000: $50,000 for 20 sanitary sewer overflows and $21,000 for seven wet weather overflows caused by failures to operate or maintain their system correctly.

King County’s penalty totals $46,000: $40,000 for issues at its wet weather treatment stations that treat combined sewer overflow water and $6,000 for two sanitary sewer overflows during wet weather.

Related news: Heavy rain causes sewer overflow into Lake Washington

Untreated or insufficiently treated sewage discharges contain bacteria and other pollutants that can make conditions unsafe for people and animals. Combined sewers carry both stormwater and sewage, and the city and county own and operate different parts of the combined sewer infrastructure within Seattle city limits.

Originally, combined sewers were built with overflow points called outfalls, intended to discharge during large storms. State and federal law now requires communities to minimize untreated sewage reaching rivers, lakes and the Puget Sound by eliminating these overflows except in extreme weather circumstances.

These violations do not involve King County’s main wastewater treatment plants — Brightwater, South Plant and West Point.

These penalties are required under separate legal agreements that Ecology and EPA negotiated with the City of Seattle and King County in 2013 to settle past violations related to combined sewer overflow discharges.

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Recently, the DOE and EPA agreed to modify these agreements to give Seattle and King County more time to develop larger projects that are more resilient to climate change. These modifications prioritize projects in the Lower Duwamish area and extend the date to control all outfalls to 2037 from the original 2030 date.

The modifications also provide greater flexibility for the county and city to adapt their plans as new information becomes available or new opportunities for collaboration arise.

The city and county both said they will continue their work to improve water quality and reduce combined sewer overflows through major infrastructure investments and adjusting maintenance when issues are identified. The DOE and EPA will each receive half of the penalty payments.

Seattle and King County have committed to controlling combined sewer overflows according to state regulations by 2037. While they have completed projects to reduce combined sewer overflow discharges over the last several years, additional work is needed to fully meet state requirements.

Bill Kaczaraba is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here. Follow Bill on X and email him here.