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Nov
05

Public engagement

Learn how King County is working with the community to provide project information and identify potential impacts at West Point. 

We’re committed to being a good neighbor at West Point and keeping the public informed of current projects and planned improvements that may affect the community.

Visit this page often to stay informed and involved as we share information about what's going on at the plant.

Community briefings and community event summaries

News releases and blog articles

Clean water stories

 

Tours and videos

  • There are currently limited education programs and tours of West Point due to ongoing, long-term capital improvement construction projects.

West Point videos

Newsletters

Translations

2017 flood event

West Point suffered severe equipment failure and flooding early in the morning of February 9, 2017, while operating at maximum capacity during a storm. All repairs critical to plant operations were completed in April 2017. The plant resumed full compliance with environmental permits in May of the same year.

King County has completed analysis of water quality monitoring data that were collected during the restoration of the West Point treatment facilities damaged by the flooding of the plant that occurred on February 9, 2017. The West Point Flooding Event Water Quality Monitoring Report (27MB) was peer-reviewed by 3 external scientists and presents the data and findings of the effects of the flooding event on effluent and marine water quality.

King County monitors the West Point wastewater coming into the plant (influent) and the discharge to Puget Sound (effluent) for multiple parameters that can affect water quality: flow, total suspended solids, biochemical oxygen demand, pH, fecal coliform bacteria, residual chlorine, and nutrients. These parameters are routinely sampled either daily, weekly, or monthly, as required in the NPDES permit for West Point that is overseen by the Department of Ecology. This data is used with the marine water quality monitoring data, and compared to permit limits.

West Point restoration routine effluent water quality monitoring data

West Point restoration effluent priority pollutant monitoring data

West Point restoration near-field effluent mixing water quality analysis

Discharge dispersion in Puget Sound

Map of Typical Winter/Spring Dispersion of the West Point Treatment Plant Effluent, April 2017

Historical technical reports on effluent plume studies of West Point:

Following collection of initial water quality monitoring data after the West Point Treatment Plant flooding event on February 9, 2017, and during the period of reduced treatment, a water quality monitoring summary report was prepared in February 2018 that evaluated effluent and Puget Sound water quality monitoring data collected in 2017. Additionally, the County collected chemical contaminant data for bottom sediments and marine organism tissues from different areas of Puget Sound in 2017, 2018, and 2019, and prepared six individual technical reports that evaluated any changes due to the flooding event:

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