SURVEY: Questions for you as planning continues for West Duwamish Wet Weather Storage Facility million-gallon overflow tank

| Environment | West Seattle news

The return of rain today is a reminder that summer won’t last forever. Heavy rains in other seasons sometimes bring sewer overflows into local waterways. As we’ve been reporting, another big storage tank is planned for West Seattle to reduce overflows into the Duwamish River. A 1,250,000-gallon underground storage tank is at the heart of what’s now being called the West Duwamish Wet Weather Storage Facility. As shown on the map above, it will be west of the 1st Avenue South Bridge (on land currently owned by the port), with other components of the project nearby. The planning process has now arrived at the next phase of public comments, with an online open house and survey now available. The King County Wastewater Treatment District‘s announcement explains, “This project will not only protect the future health of the Duwamish River, but can also benefit the neighborhood through creative design elements – and you can help us decide what elements to include on site. Additionally, our team will seek opportunities to support community-driven initiatives in the nearby neighborhoods. Help us design a facility and support local projects that are true to your values.” Info about the project is in the online open house; the survey is here. If the planning process proceeds as currently scheduled, construction would start in 2025.

P.S. You can also talk with KCWTD reps about the project at this Saturday’s Duwamish River Festival, noon-5 pm at the new Duwamish River People’s Park (8700 Dallas Ave. S., South Park).

nwpolitico August 4, 2022 (1:25 pm)

Wouldn’t the massive encampment currently at that site need to be removed for construction to begin?

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WSB August 4, 2022 (2:16 pm)

From the times we’ve been down there, the encampment is mostly on state-owned land a bit south (the previous KCWTD maps are confusing) – if you look at KC Parcel Viewer, you’ll see the port land is mostly on the north side of Michigan. Regardless, yes, if there’s anyone on the site when construction (potentially) starts in three years, they’d have to leave.

Mr Salmon August 7, 2022 (10:44 am)

“The theme for this public art project will be “the end of the line.” The end of the line is where the built system meets the natural one at our regional bodies of water. This topic considers our relationship to the point of connection between built and natural systems. “In a time of pandemic, end stage capitalism woes, and planet rapidly loosing its ability to sustain life due to human impacts, could the Art Commission come up with a more hopeful, less self centered sounding theme than “The End of the Line”? This is not “the end of the line” for people and life in the Duwamish River. The art piece theme might be better chosen by the communities that surround the project including or maybe exclusively so by the Duwamish Tribe.

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