You asked, so we asked: About the water at bottom of Admiral Way hill

| Safety | West Seattle news

(WSB photo from this afternoon – mostly dry now)

This long spell of dry weather has resurfaced a longrunning problem – water running down the Admiral Way hill toward the bridge. One week ago, Laura emailed us to ask about it:

I am puzzled by how and why the city is allowing so much water to flow across lower Admiral Way. I can see that there were blog posts about it several years ago, but over the last couple of weeks it has become much worse. If our temperatures drop, it will be a massive ice rink! Have you heard anything from the city about this?

As a result of that inquiry, we had asked SDOT about it even before it led to exactly that problem – an “ice rink” – on Wednesday morning. SDOT first redirected us to Seattle Public Utilities, whose spokesperson Travis Gershaneck initially responded:

This location appears to be a known area of surfacing groundwater. Surfacing groundwater is a natural condition in Seattle, and the City works to manage and mitigate impacts of these sites where possible. If icy or otherwise unsafe road conditions occur, the Seattle Department of Transportation is the lead agency and can be contacted at (206) 684-ROAD. For urgent drainage or flooding concerns, Seattle Public Utilities’ 24/7 Operations Response Center can be reached at (206) 386-1800. These operational lines are the best way to reach our hard-working crews and allow for the most timely response.

By then, Wednesday morning’s freezing fog had struck, and we asked SDOT how they’d responded. Spokesperson Mariam Ali replied:

Our crews are aware of the reported black ice on Admiral Way. A truck was dispatched to the area earlier today, and we will continue to monitor the location. A salt truck will be checking the corridor (Wednesday night) and treating as needed to address any icy conditions.

Then today, we got an update from SPU spokesperson Gershaneck:

Thanks again for reaching out and bringing the issue to our attention. I wanted to follow up with some actions we’ve taken in the area in the past 24 hours.

We contacted our Operations Response Center before we discovered it was a known surfacing groundwater site. An SPU crew was dispatched and able to clean nearby catch basins, which may help reduce additional water sources adding to the surfacing ground water issue. They also requested an overnight street sweeping to remove debris along SW Olga St to SW Spokane St. Although the surfacing groundwater is expected to continue, these actions may help mitigate some impacts in the near term.

junctioneer January 22, 2026 (8:41 pm)

Another hilly road with year-round surfacing groundwater that freezes is Ferry. However, it has far less traffic. I thought it was leaking pipes until I read more about Seattle’s glacier-created geography in the book “Wild in Seattle.”

Mije January 22, 2026 (9:34 pm)

There must be a way to intercept this water and keep it off the roadway. Sounds like SPU just doesn’t wanna deal with it.

Jackson The Geologist January 23, 2026 (6:40 am)

Reply

I’m a geologist- yep there are several ways to deal. One would be dewatering wells (think straws in a line that intercept the water uphill from the road and pump it elsewhere, like in to the stormwater system). Another would be a curtain drain (trench filled with gravel with a perforated pipe in it). We have delightfully complex soils in the Seattle area and it is probably something along the lines of a layer of finer silty soils underneath a layer of coarser sandier soils where groundwater moving downwards through the coarser unit is stopped and travels down gradient along the finer layer until it reaches the surface and then roadway.
- Curious George January 23, 2026 (9:13 am)
  
  Reply
  
  Thank You Jackson – very informative. I have seen this water since moving to the Admiral area 40 plus years ago. My observations is that the city is reactive not proactive and awaits a death or two with a big💰lawsuit…

Samantha January 22, 2026 (9:53 pm)

I saw a cyclist skid and fall off his bike around 6:40 am. I don’t think he was expecting the water and ice. He got up to collect his bike but he easily could have been hit while on the ground. He wore highly reflective clothing.

Rumbles January 23, 2026 (9:07 am)

Another slippery road and SDOT is “monitoring”. That checks.

Marty2 January 23, 2026 (9:16 am)

Maybe another sign or two would help.

scrimblescrumble January 23, 2026 (9:47 am)

Also two spots of constant running water across the “sidewalk” on Jacobsen going down by Me-Kwa-Mooks. It’s been that way forever.

Matt January 23, 2026 (1:22 pm)

As a cyclist, I have fallen on black ice caused by this surfacing groundwater. It was a hard lesson that when the air temperature drops below 36ish I should take the sidewalk down the hill. It’s really unfortunate there has not been an improvement for this primary cycle path down the hill. I can’t help but wonder about gutters on the side of the road, trench drains, or other solutions to direct the water elsewhere. In any event, I reached out to SDOT and Find-it-fix-it a few years back, noting it was a hazard. Their reply in 2019: We are following up regarding your report of water on SW Admiral Way, uphill from SW SpokaneSt. Both Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) and the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) haveassessed the site and believe the water issue is caused by surfacing groundwater. The surfacinggroundwater that you reported is on a list of 150+ known surfacing groundwater sites. The City hasfinite funds with which to address such issues, and we cannot estimate when funds will be availableto address the issue you identify, if ever. Placement on the list does not indicate that the Cityagrees there is a problem that the City must address.In the future, sites on the surfacing groundwater list may be selected for operational and/or capitalimprovements to address the impacts of the surfacing groundwater. They may also be removedfrom the list upon further review. Projects for sites on the list will be prioritized based on safety,infrastructure impact, frequency and duration, groundwater source and other factors. Please note:the City does not address surfacing groundwater problems on private property.One project the City has completed in this area was repaving of a considerable length along thesignificantly eroded curb of SW Admiral Way in 2018. The repaving improved drainage of thesurfacing groundwater, but did not eliminate the water from the roadway.If you see that the groundwater seepage results in ice on the roadway then please call SDOT at206-684-7623 to notify them of the icy condition. When temperatures reach freezing, SDOT treatsthese areas with salt.We understand there are safety concerns for bicyclists on this road. Individual users of city streetshave the general responsibility to evaluate roadway surface conditions. Whenever weather dropsbelow freezing, users of all types need to be aware the possibility of ice exists on all city roadways.People riding bikes have vehicles with less inherent stability than the four wheeled vehicles used bypeople in cars, and must therefore be more attentive with regard to elements like pavement andenvironmental conditions.