Seattle plant failure dumps millions of gallons of sewage
SEATTLE — Millions of gallons of raw sewage and untreated runoff have poured into the United States’ second-largest estuary since a massive sewage treatment plant experienced equipment failures that forced it to stop fully treating Seattle’s waste.
The county-run facility has been hobbling along at about half-capacity since the Feb. 9 electrical failure resulted in catastrophic flooding that damaged an underground network of pumps, motors, electric panels and other gear.
The sewage treatment plant — Washington state’s largest — is only partially treating dirty water that goes down Seattle toilets and washes off roofs and roads before discharging it into Puget Sound. It’s likely to face fines for violating federal clean-water laws.
“It has been a disaster, and we’re not out of it yet. We still don’t know really what went wrong,” said Jeanne Kohl-Welles, a King County councilwoman whose district includes the 32-acre West Point Treatment Plant, on the shores of Puget Sound next to Seattle’s largest public park.