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Improvement projects
Find information about construction and improvement projects at Brightwater.
As we do at all of our wastewater treatment facilities, the Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD) continuously looks for ways to keep Brightwater efficient and reliable. We design and build projects to:
- Meet updated regulations
- Save energy
- Improve water quality
- Increase capacity for growing communities
- Improve efficiency and reliability
- Repair, replace, or upgrade equipment which has come to the end of its life
Inside the treatment plant, projects help us manage today’s wastewater flows in a treatment system built for the future. Many of these projects help conserve energy while maintaining or even increasing performance. Brightwater engineers and operators continuously scan the plant for energy savings.
These projects range in size from small lighting retrofits to large-scale process improvement projects requiring major construction. For example, in 2019 we completed a project to upgrade key components of the existing membrane aeration system. Aeration is necessary to keep the bacteria that processes wastewater thriving.
Currently, there are many projects underway in the treatment plant to save energy and increase efficiency.
Outside the Brightwater facility on King County’s property, you may see projects to maintain landscaping, trails, public art, and more. Environmental projects help us to manage the landscape and meet permit requirements. WTD landscapes like the Brightwater trails area help to filter stormwater and provide wildlife habitat. After we create or restore landscapes, we monitor them and adapt practices as needed.
Active projects
Alpha Hill Erosion Control Project
October 2023
Schedule update: This project is postponed until 2024. This will help plantings have a better chance of establishing their roots and surviving in this landscape.
Visitors to the Brightwater trails area will see a transformation in Alpha Hill, a large landform that towers over the South Wetscape area. This fall, King County’s contractor will plant landscaping such as shrubs and trees and install fencing around the base of the hill. Alpha Hill’s new look will blend in with the trails area outside the fence line and prevent erosion into nearby salmon-bearing streams.
Alpha Hill will be permanently closed to public access, including walking, hiking, running, and sledding. Although there are no developed trails up Alpha Hill, people have made informal paths into the steep hillside. This inadvertently sends dirt into Little Bear Creek, a home to endangered salmon. Our goal is to protect a salmon bearing stream from the effects of erosion.
King County’s contractor will plant shrubs and trees and install a rockery and a fence. These landscaping features can provide wildlife habitat while discouraging people from scrambling up Alpha Hill.
We expect construction to begin in 2024 and last approximately 2 months. The contractor will need to temporarily close trails in the construction area. Visitors should watch for signs and detour to other trails.
We welcome visitors to continue visiting the 3 miles of established trails along the Brightwater property. You can view a map of the Brightwater trails here.
You can contact Emily Berry at 206-848-0698 or emberry@kingcounty.gov with questions or concerns. Sign up for Brightwater emails to stay up to date.
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