Thank you for signing up to receive updates from King County Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD) on the Sammamish Plateau Diversion Project. We want to welcome you and all the interested people who make time in their busy lives to engage with our projects.

This is a kickoff email to let you know what to expect in coming months. Feel free to share this email with others you know so that we can reach as many interested people as possible early in this project's journey.

First, time for a little holiday season sewer trivia! If you are a sewer superhero, you can skip to the serious stuff below this section.

Holiday plumbing and sewer problems are the stuff of bad movies and family nightmares. Did you know that you can cause your own sewer to back up by putting the wrong things down the drain?

Test your knowledge on proper sewer etiquette. Which of these is okay to put down the drain during the holidays?

• Hot, soapy water and drippings from turkey, tofurkey, or turducken
• A pot of gourmet coffee that was too strong for your sister visiting from Duluth
• That batch of lumpy gravy no one would touch
• Paper towels used to wipe up the candied yams your toddler threw on the floor
• None of the above

For the answers, keep reading until the “Trivia Answer” section.

Wastewater from homes and businesses in the East Lake Sammamish area currently flows to King County’s South Treatment Plant in Renton. King County is working to send more flows from the growing Eastside to Brightwater, our latest regional treatment plant, located in Woodinville. This project will build new sewer infrastructure to carry more wastewater from the East Lake Sammamish area toward Brightwater Treatment Plant.

The Sammamish Plateau Diversion Project team is just starting out

Our project team is doing a lot of research and modeling right now. You won’t see much activity on the ground besides occasional visits from team members and survey crews. Once we have developed options, we will share them with the community.

It’s a good time for interested people to get on board, learn about the project, and let us know about your values and concerns.

You will have opportunities to give feedback and input at points along the way, but we appreciate hearing about your values, concerns, and needs as we get started. What do we need to know about you and your community? Whatever you share informs the project all along the way.

Correct answer: Brewed coffee is the only item on this list that should go down the drain.

Fats, oils, and grease (FOG) can clog pipes like they were old arteries, sending your sewage back into your home. If FOG gets gummed up with wipes, paper towels, or other trash, a qualified plumber may have to clear pipes before you can use your toilets and drains again! Grease is bad for your pipes and ours, too, and the image on the right shows what can happen when too much FOG clogs up our pipes. You can see the thick layer of fat and rags that are building up along the sides of the pipe.

Learn how to keep your plumber off your holiday guest list at the WTD Blog.