An equipment shutdown coupled with high tides and heavy rainfall have caused a Seattle treatment plant to dump millions of gallons of untreated wastewater into the Puget Sound.
King County’s West Point Treatment Plant experienced an equipment shutdown early Thursday, the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks said. The shutdown, along with very high tides and stormwater, nearly flooded the plant.
To protect the treatment plant from significant flooding that could severely damage equipment, West Point is operating in emergency bypass mode. Untreated wastewater is being discharged from the outfall, about three-quarters of a mile offshore and 240 feet deep in Puget Sound.
King County will continue to provide updates as this emergency situation is resolved.
King County has notified health and regulatory agencies, and is sampling water quality and posting signs warning people to avoid contact with the water over the next several days as a precaution to protect public health.