As noted in our morning traffic roundup, last night/this morning was scheduled to be Seattle City Light crews’ final session of restoring ~80 West Seattle Bridge streetlights that had gone dark due to wire theft. SCL spokesperson Kate Jacobs promised us a “definitive” update today, and then provided this simple one: “The work is complete, and all lights have been restored.” We’ll take a look after sunset to see.

Often when tap water turns discolored, there’s an obvious reason that sediment – primarily rust – has been stirred up in the lines: A water break, a fire incident requiring hydrant use, or firefighters testing hydrants. Recent incidents of brown water in Admiral didn’t seem to relate to any of those categories, so we asked Seattle Public Utilities. We also included an inquiry about an apparent change in the hotline that for many years was answered by an actual live person and now does not. It’s taken a few days, but here’s what we received from SPU spokesperson Cody Bowman late today:

On October 9 and 10, SPU received nine reports of discolored water from customers along Walnut Ave SW.

While the immediate cause of the discoloration remains undetermined, temporary discolored water can occur any time the drinking water system is disturbed, for example due to a water main break, hydrant use or testing, or operational changes. Even without obvious activity nearby, naturally occurring minerals and sediment in the system can occasionally become stirred up.

Customers should continue to call SPU’s 24/7 Operations Response Center at 206‑386‑1800 to report discolored water. The phone system is designed to help callers quickly triage water‑discoloration issues and walk through steps that often resolve the problem right away. If those steps don’t solve the issue, callers are then given the option to speak directly with an operator for further assistance. The system is not designed to prevent access to a live representative; rather, it helps manage high call volumes while still ensuring customers can reach staff when needed.

We appreciate your input and are reviewing opportunities to streamline the menu to make it even easier for customers to reach an operator when they need to.

Though SPU suggests brown water is not uncommon, 10 years ago it was happening often enough in West Seattle that SPU finally planned and carried out a special line-flushing operation.

Brown water in Admiral today for the second time in five days. No obvious cause like outage or hydrant use; we’ve renewed our inquiry with Seattle Public Utilities.

We’ve received multiple reports of brown water in the Admiral area. Firefighters aren’t likely to be doing hydrant testing today – a common cause – and there’s nothing on the Seattle Public Utilities water-trouble map, so if it’s happening to you, please be sure to report to SPU at 206-386-1800.

10:21 PM: Thanks to Jason for the photo and tip: A water-main break has closed SW Thistle by Chief Sealth International High School while Seattle Public Utilities crews make repairs. According to SPU’s water-trouble map, 10 customers are affected.

5:59 AM: The SPU map says repairs have been completed and service is restored.

5:40 PM: Thanks for the tips.4,500+ homes and businesses have been hit by a power outage. Updates to come.

5:49 PM: Added SCL map of outage zone, which includes part of South Park. Working to find out the cause.

6:01 PM: A closer look at the SCL map shows they’re counting this as two outages, and the number of homes/businesses out has actually surpassed 5,500. … The map also shows Chief Sealth IHS and at least part of Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex in the outage zone; we’re checking on whether that might affect tonight’s West Seattle HS football game scheduled for 7 pm at NCSWAC.

6:24 PM: Texter says the 8800 block of 5th SW just got power back. And another texter from High Point.Usually takes a bit for the map to show the full update.

6:27 PM: Map shows everyone’s back on. (If you’re not, call SCL.)

6:37 PM: A City Light spokesperson tells WSB the cause of the outage was a pole fire.

7:32 PM: The map now shows 155 homes out, mostly south of Westcrest Park.

7:44 AM: Thanks for the tip. More than 300 Seattle City Light customers are out of power south of Fauntleroy and into the Arroyos. “Equipment failure” is listed as the cause; this appears to include the area where SCL has been replacing underground cables.

3:01 PM: Not fixed yet. SCL’s Kate Jacobs responded to our inquiry about the cause: “The outage was caused by a failure in aging underground cable. It underscores the importance of the Brace Point Underground Cable Replacement project, which will improve service reliability and enable faster restoration times once complete.”

3:51 PM: SCL says power has been restored.

(Updated WSB photo, Morgan Junction site today, looking NE)

After Seattle City Light‘s latest updates on its long-delayed Morgan Junction EV-charging lot – originally set for 2022, now not expected before 2027 – we asked two questions. One, we’ve asked before – what was the “design flaw” that caused work to stop after it started. The other was – since SCL has kicked contractor Zenisco off the project, what’s next for getting a new one? Here are the replies we received via SCL spokesperson Kate Jacobs:

WSB: What was the structural design flaw?

SCL: Site conditions and work-quality issues on the part of the contractor required City Light to adjust the design of the east wall, which is a protective barrier between the site and the alley. The redesign is complete.

WSB: Do you have to go out to bid again to get the new contractor?

SCL: To protect Seattle’s investments, the City requires contractors to carry a bond guaranteeing the work is completed as outlined in the contract. When we fired the contractor, the company that issued the bond became responsible for ensuring the project’s completion, including determining how a new contractor is selected. We are awaiting that decision.

Jacobs added one other point of note: “This project will undergo an in-depth review to determine how we can apply lessons learned to help prevent similar situations on future projects.”

The EV lot is planned to have eight chargers available for public use (paid, not free) at a former substation site at 4118 SW Morgan,

(Recent photo of site’s SW Morgan frontage)

For months, we’ve been tracking the saga of the future Morgan Junction EV lot (4118 SW Morgan), with Seattle City Light most recently saying the work had stopped because of a design flaw, and promising an update by the end of August. That didn’t materialize, so we asked SCL what was up. They promised an update by end-of-day today, and here it is:

City Light construction engineers have resolved the structural design issue that stopped work at the site in July. Separately, the City has terminated its contract with the project’s original contractor due to performance issues and is bringing on a new contractor to complete the remaining work. We expect the charging station will be completed by September 2027.

The original contractor was Zenisco. The lot, intended to have eight chargers open for (paid) public use, was first announced in 2022 and expected to be built that year. SCL is now promising “quarterly updates.”

As part of the almost-complete Spokane Pump Station project in east Admiral, Seattle Public Utilities had sent an alert that they’d be running a high volume of water through the system yesterday and today. Readers wondered how they’d know it was definitely done and the risk of brown water was likely past (we had a few reports yesterdy and last night, though none so far today). We’ve just received word from SPU that the testing is done.

That photo is from Lauren, who reoorts brown water in Admiral, as does Jennifer. No emergencies on the Seattle Public Utilities water-trouble map; it is often caused by SFD testing hydrants, but it’s always a good idea to report discolored water to SPU at 206-386-1800 – and don’t do laundry until it clears up, as the discoloration is usually sediment/rust that can leave stains.

P.S. Reminder – (corrected) Tuesday and Wednesday of this week will bring some testing related to the almost-complete Spokane Pump Station project, and that could mean discolored water in parts of Admiral – here’s the alert we’ve published.

ORIGINAL FRIDAY REPORT: The longrunning Spokane Pump Station project in east Admiral may bring some “brown water” next week. Here’s the alert we received from Seattle Public Utilities, explaining why.

On Tuesday 8/11 and Wednesday 8/12, Seattle Public Utilities is testing two pumps at the Spokane Street pump station as a part of the commissioning package for the Spokane Pump Station Capital Project. Testing the pumps will require moving approximately 100,000 gallons of water over the course of several hours. Impacted pipes have been flushed and drained to minimize sediment, but there could be some discolored water moving through the system during the testing. The affected areas are the 400, 498, and the 550 zones in the provided map with the north boundary at SW Lander Street, the south boundary at SW Andover Street, the east boundary at Harbor Avenue, and the west boundary at California Avenue.

If customers in the impacted areas see discolored water, SPU recommends waiting until it clears before drinking it. For more information about discolored water is here on our website.

We’ve asked SPU a followup question about how soon the entire project will be finished.

ADDED MONDAY: SPU said the project is close to done. Meantime, a commenter asked for more specifics regarding the time window for the testing – SPU says 10 am to 2 pm both days.

2:36 PM: Police are helping block off an area in the 2800 block of SW Nevada where SFD is dealing with a natural-gas leak reported in a townhouse complex. Avoid the area.

2:41 PM: PSE has arrived at the scene, firefighters told dispatch.

2:51 PM: The leak’s been secured, and the SFD units will be leaving.

(SCROLL DOWN/REFRESH FOR UPDATES, INCLUDING REPAIR PROGRESS AND BUSINESS CLOSURES)

5:08 AM: Thanks for the tips. Power has gone out for more than 4,400 homes and businesses, according to the Seattle City Light outage map. Updates to come.

5:13 AM: If you’re hearing sirens, there are police responses for businesses where alarms were set off because of the outage.

5:32 AM: Finally hearing word of the apparent cause – tree trouble in North Admiral, per police radio. Texter elaborates that it’s near 47th SW and SW Holgate, “a couple of tree limbs down in alley … One limb on the ground. Big one on the wires.”

5:56 AM: A texter in The Junction reports power restored. The map should show soon the extent of that. … And a moment later, it’s updated to show 1,980 customers still out; we’ll add the map screenshot shortly. … Here it is (we do this for the record, as outages vanish from SCL’s site once they’re over):

6:19 AM: WSB senior contributor Christopher Boffoli has gone to the scene and talked with City Light. First, here’s the tree:

Christopher says they have to call in a specialized crew to reach the problem, so they’re guessing it might take a few hours to resolve the rest of the outage (11 am-ish, though that’s an estimate, so could be sooner, could be later). Meantime, he’s also been through the heart of the Admiral business district and says it looks like power is on there – signals working too – but further north is where signs of the outage are apparent.

6:58 AM: Now there’s a transformer fire at 47th/Genesee – and we had a flicker all the way down here in Upper Fauntleroy. No idea if this is related. … But the outage has just grown again.

7:11 AM: Above is a screenshot of City Light’s map for the newly expanded outage zone – which appears to be the same as the original outage zone.

8:11 AM: No updates since then but now that we’re getting further into the day, please remember that dark signals = all-way stops. Also, any information on business status would be appreciated. Via text, Carl just reported that in the heart of The Junction, the west side of California is out but the east side is on. … This comment suggests same situation for at least part of The Admiral District.

8:50 AM: The newest photos are from Bill, who reports that the City Light truck shown above is now on scene. He also sent this view of the tree limb on the wire.

Still 4,400+ out.

9:19 AM: Our crew in The Junction reports California/Alaska’s signals are still out but California/Oregon is working (California/Edmunds too). Back in the outage zone, Bill reports the City Light crew “is making good progress” and sent this photo:

Back to The Junction, our crew says most east-side-of-California businesses ARE open, with power, and is checking the west side next.

9:44 AM: The entire west side of California between Alaska and Edmunds is out, including Bakery Nouveau, Top Pot, and Husky Deli, per our crew. Headed north next.

9:56 AM: West side of California between Alaska and Oregon – most are closed BUT while Easy Street’s café is closed, they’re open for shopping, cards and Venmo only. … Traffic-signal updates from Admiral – out at 47th/Admiral.

9:59 AM: Looks like at least some of the power is back – our crew says the California/Alaska signal just came back on. SCL map should update shortly. … Map shows 1,565 homes/businesses still out, Admiral area.

10:21 AM: And now it appears everybody’s back on.

One week ago, Seattle City Light told us its contractor/crew had gone into a “complete work stoppage” at the Morgan Junction EV-charging lot site (4118 SW Morgan) while they figured out how to deal with a “significant structural design issue.” A WSB team member noticed an excavator being operated at the site on Thursday, so we asked SCL about the “work stoppage” status and if they had any update on a new timeline. Spokesperson Jenny Levesque replied, “The work stoppage remains in place for a portion of the site. Our engineering team continues to work on resolving the design issue. The project team is committed to bringing electric vehicle charging to the Morgan Junction neighborhood. We will share an update with you by the end of August.” That was the month the eight-charger lot previously was supposed to be complete, after a series of delays dating back to the year the project was announced, 2022.

4:58 PM: Seattle Fire crews are in the 5200 block of SW Canada Drive, just off Beach Drive, for a natural-gas leak. They’ve determined it’s “on the supply side of the line” – which is 1″ wide – and are evacuating some people nearby as a precaution. Avoid that stretch of Beach Drive (see the vicinity map) for a while.

5:43 PM: The last two SFD responders just left, and the call is closed.

9:31 AM: Thanks for the tip. Power is out for what the City Light outage map shows as more than 2,100 customers in West Seattle, White Center, and South Park; this happened just after a solid-waste truck took down wires near 16th and Myrtle – police are closing that intersection part of the area. Updates to come.

(WSB photos by Torin Record-Sand)

10:03 AM: Our crew hasn’t seen the culprit truck, but as the photo above shows, City Light is on scene at 17th/Myrtle, as are police to keep the streets blocked.

10:16 AM: Police at the scene explained why our photographer didn’t see the truck – it left the scene after the crash. We don’t know yet whether the truck driver or their employer has subsequently called it in, though.

10:59 AM: More than two-thirds of those affected should be back on, the map shows, including all of whose who lost power in White Center and South Park – 647 customers in West Seattle remain out.

1:17 PM: A check of the map confirms that everyone’s back on.

ADDED: Donald sent this photo, taken while the truck was still on scene:

It’s already four years past the original estimate for completion. Today, Seattle City Light says the Morgan Junction electric-vehicle-charging lot project has a brand-new delay. The utility just sent this update:

While crews worked on site during the FIFA construction moratorium, City Light construction engineers identified a significant structural design issue. This required a complete work stoppage and will further delay the project so the project team can develop a solution. We will provide an estimated completion date for the charging station once the solution is approved by permitting authorities. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

No details of the “significant structural design issue” were provided, so we’re asking about that, and whether this is likely to mean weeks of delay or months of delay. (Despite the “work stoppage,” there was a heavy-equipment operator on site shortly after 8:30 pm last night when we took the photo above.) The lot is supposed to provide eight chargers for paid public use. SCL had just said in June that crews were dealing with “challenging” site conditions that would prevent them from achieving the most-recent projected completion date, which would have been next month.