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 The King County Industrial Waste program regulates over 650 commercial and industrial customers, spanning from breweries to aerospace.
Skills Inc. is part of Western Washington’s cluster of innovation in commercial aerospace. Lesser known is that the Auburn-based manufacturer and finisher of airplane parts is also an innovator in wastewater treatment. The company uses heavy metals and caustic chemicals to make the planes of tomorrow while ensuring Puget Sound remains unharmed today.
There to ensure that happens is our King County Industrial Waste Program, which regulates more than 650 commercial and industrial customers that discharge into our wastewater system. Skills Inc. is one of the few companies that earned our Commitment to Compliance Award for achieving five consecutive years of perfect permit compliance ending in calendar year 2023. Explore our latest blog to learn more about how we can support a strong local economy while protecting Puget Sound waters.
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 Solar panels line the roof of the onsite battery backup facility at West Point Treatment Plant in Seattle.
Our new 16.8-megawatt battery system at West Point Treatment Plant faced its first major test during the recent "bomb cyclone" windstorm. As powerful gusts swept through Western Washington, power was lost throughout the region, West Point operated flawlessly to protect Puget Sound. That’s thanks to the 48,000 high-voltage battery cell-system that bridged the power going to the plant’s critical pumps during seven voltage sags within the inbound power lines.
We completed the battery project this summer, in time for the winter storm season – demonstrating our commitment to building resilient infrastructure that can protect Puget Sound in the face of climate change.
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 Workers oversee the early stages of construction related to the Sewer Heat Recovery Program.
We’re thrilled to announce that we have won two 2025 National Environmental Achievement Awards from the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), the nation’s leading advocate for clean water public utilities.
Our Sewer Heat Recovery Pilot Project won the Community Leadership Award for a public-private partnership to heat a new South Lake Union life-sciences complex with heat from a county sewer line, one of the first and largest commercial systems in the nation.
The second award for Public Information & Education goes to our Operators-in-Training video, which tells the story of how this nationally-recognized job training program came to be through innovations in learning and hiring practices. (Scroll below for more about applications for the 2025 spring cohort!)
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Additionally, we’re proud to share that WTD Director Kamuron Gurol has been appointed to the NACWA Board of Directors, where he will enhance our contributions to NACWA’s voice on national policy and funding issues, and advocate for our utility and our ratepayers’ needs. |
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 King County’s Operator-in-Training Program offers paid training and state certification for careers in wastewater treatment.
Speaking of our Operator-in-Training Program, we are launching a new cohort in spring 2025. This is a paid, on-the-job training for careers in wastewater operations that leads to Washington State certification and job opportunities.
This six-month program is designed to open doors to a vital industry protecting public health and the environment. We are accepting applications through Dec. 23!
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 King County wastewater staff dressed up in their favorite educational costumes for the World Toilet Day celebration at the Gates Foundation Discovery Center.
World Toilet Day is an annual observance held on Nov.19 to raise awareness about the global sanitation crisis. Established by the United Nations in 2013, this day connects the oh-so-humble toilet to game-changing improvements in public health and the environment.
Here in King County, we celebrated with global sanitation champion, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Our Wastewater Treatment employees took to the streets of downtown Seattle as a “Flush Mob” to (amusingly) remind people of the do’s and don’ts of using a toilet to protect our wastewater system and Puget Sound.
Curious about toilets? The Gates Foundation has an ongoing exhibition, "A Better Way to Go: Toilets and the Future of Sanitation," showcasing innovative sanitation solutions and art installations.
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The holidays are upon us and here at WTD that means it’s time for a friendly reminder about fats, oils, and grease, or FOG. When people cook and put FOG down the drain, it doesn’t dissolve in water and can cling to pipes, building up over time into a dreaded fatberg.
That’s why we ask everyone to let cooking oil cool, then scrape it into a container and dispose of it in the trash. Let’s keep our kitchen and our sewers clog-free!
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