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Image: Looking down at the engines that turn the raw sewage pumps at West Point Treatment Plant.
One of the dozens of infrastructure upgrades underway at West Point Treatment Plant includes the raw sewage pump replacement project. Crews began work last fall to replace the plant’s aging pump system and make seismic improvements to the building that holds the pumps.
West Point Treatment Plant’s raw sewage pumps do the heavy work of moving up to 440 million gallons of wastewater and stormwater throughout the facility every day. Installed in 1966 when the plant was originally constructed, it’s now time for an upgrade.
To keep operations running smoothly, the pumps will be replaced one at a time — at a pace of one per year through 2029. This year, contractors are doing the initial work:
- Removing exterior paneling
- Rerouting gas pipes
- Relocating electrical and instrumentation equipment
- Reinforcing and widening the original concrete pillars to support the additional weight of the new gantry crane and roof
While the existing pumps have certainly done their job, but the new ones will run more efficiently!
Image: Georgetown Wet Weather Treatment Station at night.
Nearly 2 million people in the Puget Sound region rely on our regional wastewater system. Most of that work happens out of sight, which is why we are pulling back the curtain to give you an inside look into how our system works to protect public health and the environment every day while planning for the future.
The Community Report covers:
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How the King County Wastewater Treatment Division treats 183 million gallons of wastewater every day
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The investments we’re making to modernize our system and prepare for the future
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How we’re carefully managing costs to ratepayers, and the value we bring to communities
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The dedicated people operating this system 24/7, rain and shine
During the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers found that testing wastewater was a helpful and non-invasive way to monitor how the virus was spreading in communities. The 2023 study looked at two towns to see how well this method matched actual case numbers. While it worked better in smaller communities than larger ones, the data still gave public health officials valuable insight to help guide their decisions. Wastewater can help us in more ways than one!
Image: People jumping off a diving board into Lake Washington at Madison Beach.
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