Brief wastewater bypass occurs during routine equipment testing at West Point Treatment

April 29, 2021

Summary

Normal wastewater treatment operations were swiftly restored at West Point Treatment Plant on Thursday afternoon, April 29, after routine testing caused an isolated power outage and the emergency bypass gate to open for approximately 20 minutes. The plant is back online and operating normally.

Story

The West Point Treatment Plant experienced an isolated power outage due to an electrical component failure at approximately 12:18 p.m. on Thursday, April 29, that resulted in a wastewater bypass into Puget Sound.

During routine testing, the backup power supply failed to engage and the loss of power led to the opening of the emergency bypass gate. The gate was open to the marine outfall for approximately 20 minutes during very low flows. No estimate of the volume of the bypass is available at this time.

Out of an abundance of caution, the beaches at West Point in Discovery Park and Golden Gardens are temporarily closed pending water quality results. King County employees have collected water samples and posted signs in the vicinity of the outfall pipe. The brief bypass has been reported to health and regulatory agencies.

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RELEVANT LINKS
• West Point Treatment Plant

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Marie Fiore, King County Wastewater Treatment Division, 206-263-0284

About the King County Wastewater Treatment Division
King County’s Wastewater Treatment Division protects public health and enhances the environment by collecting and treating wastewater while recycling valuable resources for the Puget Sound region. The division provides wastewater treatment services to 17 cities, 17 local sewer districts and more than 1.7 million residents across a 420-square-mile area in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties.