(South Operations Center rendering, from city website)

We most recently reported back in July on Seattle Public Utilities‘ plan to turn the bus yard at 4500 West Marginal Way SW [map] into its Drainage and Wastewater South Operations Center.

Today’s city-circulated Land Use Information Bulletin includes official notice of the city’s land-use-permit application for the project. That opens a comment period through November 6th – here’s how to comment.

If you have questions about the project, or just want to see/hear more about it, you’ll want to be at Wednesday night’s Highland Park Action Committee meeting – 7 pm at Highland Park Improvement Club (1116 SW Holden) – because SPU is on the agenda with a presentation about it.

9:55 PM: Thanks to those who just messaged to let us know about a power outage on Charlestown Hill. The Seattle City Light map shows 43 customers out as of just after 9 pm, no cause yet, restoration estimated by 3 am (but remember, it might be sooner … or later). Let us know if you see an SCL truck in the area – that’s usually the main clue about the outage’s origin.

10:07 PM: The SCL map has updated to blame this outage on unspecified “equipment failure.”

5:52 AM: Still out, the map says, now estimating restoration is still a few hours away.

12:01 PM: The power is finally back after 14+ hours. We asked City Light’s Scott Thomsen about the cause and why it took so long to fix. His reply:

The outage you asked about was caused by the failure of a piece of equipment called a limiter. A limiter limits the amount of current flow to protect equipment from power surges.

When it blew, the surge that was then allowed damaged an underground cable, which had to be repaired. Finding the exact damage spot on an underground cable can be challenging, sometimes involving digging up different spots to check its condition. This one did take a long time to find the damage and repair it.

First report from last night’s quarterly Morgan Community Association meeting is one of interest no matter what neighborhood you’re in: It’s the first community-council briefing we’ve seen in this area since Seattle City Light started switching over to automated meters. The map above shows which parts of West Seattle are scheduled for installation next year – according to the online schedule, the utility expects to have all installations citywide due by the end of 2018.

SCL’s Scott Thomsen spoke to MoCA last night, saying that the new meters will be uploading your power-use information to SCL six times a day. They’re replacing meters that are in some cases older than half a century. He described the attributes as including “first off, you’re going to get more accurate billing.” No more “estimated reads” when they can’t get a meter reading to your house, for whatever reason, leading to an inaccurate bill and maybe a big catch-up bill later. Then, “on a day like today with a storm coming in,” instead of reporting a power outage, “the meter will tell us that you are out,” and that will get crews on the road quicker to fix them. Also: “What we’re talking about is a change in our relationship with you, our customers, to put more power in your hands to control energy costs,” since you’ll also have access to details of how much you’re using.

Questions included whether the existing meter’s base will accommodate the new meter; Thomsen says yes, but if something goes wrong while they are installing it, or they need to fix something with the base, they will take the position that it’s their responsibility, though technically property owners are accountable for providing the base that holds the meter.

How will you know exactly when you’re due for installation? Thomsen says you’ll get three notifications before they come to install – a letter, a postcard, an automated phone call, starting weeks ahead of time. The installer will come knock on your door so that if you’re home working on something, you’ll have an opportunity to save it before the one-minute power outage that’ll be required for the switch over. You don’t have to be home for the installation. Other questions? Check out SCL’s page for the automated-meter project.

4:27 PM: Thanks to the texter who just mentioned that some residents along Harbor and Alki Avenues in the Duwamish Head area have been without power since midday. The Seattle City Light map says 91 customers – no businesses in that area, so the number would all be residences – are out, and currently estimates restoration by early evening. “Equipment failure” is blamed.

6:19 PM: City Light map says everyone’s back on. (If you’re NOT – be sure to call SCL at 206-684-3000 to be sure they know!)

ADDED MONDAY MIDDAY: While at an unrelated City Light media event today, we asked spokesperson Scott Thomsen for further info about this outage’s cause. He tells us, “It was caused by a failed lightning arrester.” (Don’t know what that is? Here’s an explanation.)

The flyer’s for another Seattle Public Utilities project that’s getting ready to start in West Seattle: Drain and pipe replacement along a section of 57th SW in Alki. SPU’s Brian Mickelson says work will begin in about two weeks. We asked for a few more details:

The project will replace 240 feet of 18-inch diameter storm drain, which will enable 6 side sewers to be reconnected to the existing 12-inch diameter sanitary sewer without sumps. Additionally, 40 feet of the existing 12-inch diameter sanitary sewer is deteriorated and will be replaced.

The 57th Ave project is part of SPU’s Sewer Rehabilitation Program, which focuses on repairing and rehabilitating sewer mainlines throughout the city, generally in city-owned street rights-of-way or city easements on private property.

As noted on the flyer, the work should take about a month.

SIDE NOTE: Reminder, SPU’s on-site info session about the SW Spokane Pump Station project in East Admiral is tomorrow (Wednesday, September 20th), 4:30-6:30 pm, as previewed here.

In case you’re not among the nearby residents to whom that flyer was sent – Seattle Public Utilities wants you to know that an informational session is coming up next week (Wednesday, September 20th) for improvements planned at the SW Spokane St. Pump Station in East Admiral. If you can’t see the embedded flyer above – read it here (PDF).

1:42 PM: Thanks to Mark for the tip: A power outage on Alki is affecting 146 customers, according to the Seattle City Light outage map – all residential, given the area that’s shown as affected. The outage is attributed to “bird/animal”; Mark reports that “a crow shorted out high-voltage wire, according to a contractor.” SCL currently estimates the power will return around 3:13 pm, but as always, keep in mind that’s just an estimate – could be sooner or later.

2:37 PM: The SCL map shows the power’s back. If yours isn’t, be sure to call to let them know – 206-684-3000.

2:42 PM: Thanks to CJ for the tip – 81 homes/businesses are out of power in the Morgan Junction/west Gatewood area, as shown on the Seattle City Light map. No word yet on cause or estimated restoration time.

3:43 PM: The restoration estimate – keep in mind, this is not scientific, and it could come back much sooner or much later – is 7:28 pm. We’re told the problem involves a utility pole (City Light lists it as “equipment failure”) and have a crew in the area working to find out more. West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor) tells us they’re not affected. But just to the south, the Shell station is – its pumps are currently taped off – as are the neighboring business New Teriyaki & Wok and Domino’s. McDonald’s has power, as do the businesses on the west side of California.

7:27 PM Three-fourths of those affected are reconnected – 21 still out.

12:51 AM: And those 21 are still out, with restoration now estimated around 4 am. Via comments and e-mail, we’ve learned more about what happened. The next two photos are from David Newell:

Another neighbor told us that City Light crews explained that the outage was “related to a rotten power pole that broke off while a Comcast crew was pulling new lines. The pole came crashing down in the alley and across the patio areas of the condos behind the strip mall housing Domino’s and the mini mart. So lucky no one was injured. The electrical hookup for one the condo buildings was severely damaged.” We’ll be following up with City Light later this morning.

7 AM NOTE: The rest of the customers did get their power back in the early-morning hours.

(South Operations Center rendering, from city website)

ORIGINAL REPORT, 9:04 AM: Back in September 2015, we reported that Seattle Public Utilities wanted to turn the bus yard at 4500 West Marginal Way SW [map] into its future Drainage and Wastewater South Operations Center. At the time, the city was looking at leasing the land. We hadn’t heard anything more about the project since then, but a notice in today’s Land Use Information Bulletin shows the project has been proceeding. The notice includes this description of the project planned for the six-acre site:

The DWW South Operations Center Project would replace or upgrade the main building’s roof and exterior walls and mechanical systems, including heating and cooling, plumbing, and electrical systems. Exterior space improvements are expected to include installation of new buried utilities, repairs to existing stormwater piping and sanitary sewer facilities on and off-site, retrofitting paved areas with stormwater bioretention areas, adding a 40-foot-tall radio tower adjacent to the main building for dispatch and emergency services, installing solar energy and rainwater harvest systems, constructing several lightly loaded structures that would be used primarily for storage and parking, and removing and replacing existing paved surfaces in areas to facilitate site and utility improvements. New structures would likely be supported with new shallow foundations. Additional site improvements would include enhancing safety at an existing railroad and bike path crossing at the site entrance, planting additional trees, and adding up to four electric vehicle charging stations. The completed DWW South Operations Center would operate seven days every week, would be completely fenced, and would be accessible only to those individuals having required authorization.

An online timeline says construction is expected in 2019. The notice published today advises that there’s been a Determination of Non-Significance for the project, meaning SPU believes an environmental-impact statement is not needed. The notice includes two deadlines for the public – comments on the DNS are due by July 24th, and if anyone wants to appeal it, that has to be filed by July 31st.

The notice points to a website for the project but it has few details, so we’re asking SPU for more, including the site’s purchase price and the project’s estimated cost, as well as the “environmental checklist” to which the notice refers, which isn’t on that site yet, though the notice says it should be. Meantime, you can see a bit more about the design on three pages of the SHKS Architects website.

6:24 PM: Since our morning report, the checklist link has been added to the project website – scroll down this page. Also, SPU says the property was purchased for $11,550,000, and that’s included in the project’s estimated cost of $54.2 million.

10:09 AM: Thanks to Diane for the tip – 33 homes are without power in southeast Admiral, centered around 37th SW/SW Hinds. The Seattle City Light outage map says it went out around 9:12 am and that they’re still investigating, hoping to have power back on by 12:30 pm or so. (And as we always note, could be sooner, could be later.)

10:34 AM: And – everybody’s back on, ahead of that prediction.

(WSB photo)

The city’s Utility Discount Program is expanding, adding help for more seniors, as announced by Mayor Ed Murray in a media briefing today at the Senior Center of West Seattle, with Councilmember Lisa Herbold and Seattle Public Utilities general manager Mami Hara.

This has to do with seniors receiving Social Security and being on Medicare – 3,000 are not getting “the help they need or the help they deserve,” because some benefits are being counted as income even though they’re not, so the city is changing eligibility rules to make sure they can get it. This can save more than $1,000 a year per household, “making their lives a little bit more affordable.”

The city already had a push under way to make sure more people eligible for the program took advantage of it, and participation has more than doubled in the past three years.

Herbold – who chairs the committee that oversees SPU – said she first heard about this eligibility problem last fall, and is glad it’s been fixed. “Another change we made was for folks to qualify for time payments when they have past-due bills” – more people can get some time to do that. She says it’s a matter of “connecting problems that constituents face on a day-to-day basis with the policy work we do in the office.”

Hara said that SPU bills can be discounted 50 percent under the discount program, and for City Light bills, it’s 60 percent. The utilities are working to be “responsive,” she said. And those who sign up for this program only need to renew their registration every three years. Signing up also gets you free passes for transfer-station use, worth up to $145 a year, and free backyard collection of trash and compost for those who can’t get theirs to the curb because of mobility issues.

You can find out more about the Utility Discount Program by going here. Councilmember Herbold also said that the city will be retroactively reviewing those who have been turned down for the program to see if they’re now eligible.

SIDE NOTE: And if you’re a senior with other resource problems/questions – or have someone in your family who is – West Seattleite Irene Stewart from the Age-Friendly Seattle program tells us you can call the free Community Living Connections hotline, 844-348-5464.