Climate-resilient infrastructure: King County’s new treatment station in Georgetown has already protected the Duwamish River and Puget Sound from 32 million gallons of pollution

A showcase example of climate-resilient infrastructure built by King County

The Georgetown Wet Weather Treatment Station, which came online November 2022, is a showcase example of how King County is adapting its infrastructure for climate impacts. The station is designed to withstand 2 feet of sea level rise and can treat high flows coming from severe rainstorms, which are occurring more frequently due to climate change.

The American Council of Engineering Companies recently selected the new station for its 2024 Engineering Excellence Awards. It previously earned an Envision Platinum certification from the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure and was awarded a Municipal Water Protection Award from the National Association of Clean Water Agencies for its contributions to the control and prevention of water pollution.

In addition to green design features – a green roof on the operations and maintenance building, permeable surfaces that reduce stormwater runoff, large cisterns that capture rainwater – crews repurposed lumber from the previous structures and diverted 90 percent of construction and demolition debris from the regional landfill.

The design team partnered with the Georgetown community to influence the site’s features and added artistic elements that include lighting that shows when the station is operating, public art displays, bioswales in the landscape, and a community room.

Building on Georgetown’s success, the Wastewater Treatment Division is designing and building several new projects in the coming years to control overflows during large storms and improve water quality with designs adapted to the latest climate projections. Other projects include:

• West Duwamish Wet Weather Storage Facility to temporarily store more than 1 million gallons of polluted stormwater until it can be treated at West Point Treatment Plant.
• Ship Canal Water Quality Project, a joint project with Seattle Public Utilities, a storage tunnel that can hold 29 million gallons until flows subside and that water can be sent on to West Point for full treatment.

"Acting upon years of disinvestment in the Duwamish River and surrounding communities requires more than soaring rhetoric – it demands tangible results like what King County has produced with its newest treatment station in Georgetown," said Paulina López, Executive Director of the Duwamish River Community Coalition. "Let's continue building on this momentum to center community voices, and prioritize health equity in the Duwamish Valley."

“Large projects like Georgetown Wet Weather Treatment Station and the new water quality projects we have ahead of us in the coming years are opportunities to achieve so much more with our investments,” said Kamuron Gurol, Director of the King County Wastewater Treatment Division. “I am proud that our teams are leading the way, regionally and nationally, in designing for climate change, advancing the County’s sustainability and equity goals, and protecting water quality, today and for future generations.”