Thanks to everyone who e-mailed with news that the power’s out for a stretch of the Admiral area. The City Light outage map says almost 300 homes are without power but should be back by late evening (the “estimated restoration time” is usually a very general estimate – could be earlier). The boundaries are shown as north of Admiral Way, between 47th SW and 53rd SW. No indication at this point of what caused the outage (no fires/lines-down incidents on the 911 log, etc.) – let us know if you’re seeing Seattle City Light crews (we’re out looking too).
6:22 PM UPDATE: Just saw a truck near 47th/Admiral – our crew is going to see if they can get close enough to find out anything about the outage.
6:34 PM UPDATE: Thanks to Karl de Jong, nearby resident and vice president of the Admiral Neighborhood Association, for sharing a photo of that crew. WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand talked to them very briefly before they moved on – they said they had fixed a “burned connector.” The SCL map still shows the power out, but one commenter says it came back on at 6:23, and we are seeing streetlights/porch lights on in the area.
Nearly 4300 single-family West Seattle residences – whose garbage, yard waste or recycling collection day is Monday, February 20 – will receive a recorded phone message on Thursday afternoon, February 16, reminding them that collections are on a normal schedule for the President’s Day holiday on Monday, February 20.
The automatic phone message is an opportunity for Seattle Public Utilities to use its outdialer system during a non-emergency event while still conveying valuable information to its customers. From information gathered from using the system, Seattle Public Utilities will be better prepared to convey critical information to members of the public during emergency events.
We think this is a first, but we’re checking.
ADDED 9:49 PM: SPU’s Ingrid Goodwin confirms to WSB that this is a test of sorts:
Yes, this will be the first time SPU is using its new outdialer system. At this point, we haven’t determined if it will be used for regular outreach messages, like holiday garbage pick-up, or if it will be used primarily for emergency communications. That’s something we’ll be evaluating from feedback we receive from our customers and other sources
It’s not on the online calendar, but we got word tonight from King County Wastewater Treatment Division that the Design Advisory Group for the Murray (Lowman Beach) combined-sewer-overflow (CSO) control facility will meet Monday night. The rendering you see above is one of the preliminary design sketches discussed when they met last month (we covered a subsequent briefing given to the Morgan Community Association). At this meeting, according to Doug Marsano from the county, “The group will be reviewing refined design concepts and discussing the public art process.” The main feature of the project is a million-gallon underground storage tank to be built across from Lowman Beach Park on what are currently residential properties that the county is in the process of buying. All are welcome to the advisory group meeting at 6:30 pm, Fauntleroy Church, 9140 California SW.
(Photos by WSB editor Tracy Record, added 8:34 am) 7:44 AM: Some residents in the Fauntlee Hills area woke up to water trouble this morning, according to several notes we have received. Greg reports, “Awoke to low water pressure and brown water coming from taps. Called city and they said there was a water emergency in the area and it would be at least 3 hours before water was restored.” Liz, who says she was given that same time frame, says her water service has been out since at least 3 am and that she was told the problem was a water-main break. We’re heading out to check.
8:26 AM: Just back from talking to the crew at the site of the break, which is on 39th SW just a bit north of SW Barton (which is wet for a few blocks downhill – luckily not quite cold enough to freeze). They have already fixed it and are flushing the lines. Just a cold-weather break, they told us, one of the 100-plus water-main breaks in the city every year (about 140, SPU reps told the recent meeting regarding Arbor Heights upgrades). This 12-inch main feeds homes for a 5-block area that zigzags around the spot where the pipe broke. Our photo shows the main and the silver clamp over the spot where it broke; the smaller green line on the right feeds the closest home, whose resident was out looking at the work and saying he’s glad it’s done because he’s overdue for his morning coffee.
People are invited to learn about King County’s progress on a project to control combined sewer overflows (CSOs) from the Barton Pump Station in West Seattle through green stormwater infrastructure.
A public meeting is planned on Wednesday, Feb. 8, at Westside School, 7740 34th Ave. SW. from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
11:45 AM: Couple of outages at the moment, just in case you’re affected and wondering if you’re alone … Seattle City Light has 22 homes without power along Beach Drive, in the Weather Watch Park vicinity (see the map); the cause is listed as “unknown,” though Melissatells us via Twitter that it “sounded like a transformer blew.” Meantime, here in Upper Fauntleroy, our Comcast Internet service is out, and the utility tells us we’re not alone – they’re attributing it to storm-related damage.
2:59 PM UPDATE: The City Light map shows the Beach Drive outage is over.
After last Saturday’s shooting by Morgan Junction Park, some discussion centered on safety concerns in the park itself. Some of those concerns came up at last night’s quarterly meeting of the Morgan Community Association (a week later than originally scheduled, because of last week’s snow/ice).
This hasn’t been announced to the media yet, so big thanks to Kevin McClintic for scanning and sharing the postcard he received this weekend: The community meeting promised by Seattle Public Utilities regarding upcoming water-main upgrades is set for this Thursday (January 26), 7-9 pm at Arbor Heights Community Church (4119 SW 102nd). As first reported here last month, water mains totaling two-thirds of a mile will be upgraded this year, as part of a process that began when last August’s big house fire called attention to problems in the system. (That day, firefighters had to run hose almost half a mile to access an adequate firefighting supply.) That process also has included hydrant upgrades; here’s our report on that, from November. (August 27 photo by Katie Meyer for WSB)
Missed trash/recycling pickup this week? Seattle Public Utilities just sent out the word on how things will work when “normal service” returns on Monday:Read More
We first heard about this at midmorning, when Richard sent a note about a King County Sheriff’s Deputy and “crime tape” at a home across from Lowman Beach. We suspected it had something to do with the county taking over that property and others, for the future Murray Pump Station Combined Sewer Overflow project, which will replace the residences across from Lowman Beach with a million-gallon underground storage tank and its support faciliities. When we got there for a photo early this afternoon, that looked so obviously to be the case, we didn’t even seek out the deputy who was parked there, figuring we’d go look up property records.
Then while back at HQ we got a note from Robin, who said she had seen a Craigslist ad about a garage sale at the address today, got there at 10 am – and instead of a sale, she found a (different – in a KCSO car, while this afternoon, it was Burien PD) deputy, the house cordoned off with crime tape, and NO TRESPASSING signs put up:
She says the deputy who was there at the time explained that the renters already had moved out and the sale listing was “fake,” one of those “everything including the fixtures are for sale” listings. We looked around online and saw some corroboration of this on CL:
Further searches showed some hint of the original post, but it’s already been removed, even from caching. Online county records confirm this site is now owned by the county; the sale closed December 30th, but the purchase price is not listed. We’re seeking further info from the Sheriff’s Office (such as, was anyone arrested?) and will also be researching the ownership status of the other properties on the block – the county’s timetable calls for demolition as soon as this spring, though construction isn’t expected to start till next year. More info on today’s incident, as we get it.
Just east of Alki Point, a section of Alki Avenue SW – from about 63rd SW to the point – is closed so crews can fix a water-main break. Thanks to Kenna Klosterman for the tip, and the photo above. We just went over to check it out; crews aren’t sure yet how long it’ll take to fix, but they say it was a relatively small plastic water pipe, and it’s affecting service to the homes on the water side of the street (north).
7:02 PM: That’s our photo from the repair site; on the WSB Facebook page, you can see a video Kenna shot earlier, while the crew was pumping water out of that section of the street.
(Photo courtesy Anne Higuera)
Another community open house has just been announced for the ongoing process of designing the Combined Sewer Overflow-control project across from Lowman Beach Park, to include a million-gallon underground storage tank. This is one of two CSO-control projects King County is currently planning in West Seattle, and it’s known as the Murray project, after the pump station that’s beneath the park, and the “basin” that feeds it. This comes shortly after a round of test drilling to gather more data about geological conditions in the area (photo above). The open house is set for 6:30 pm next Monday (November 14th) at Fauntleroy Church (9140 California SW). From the county’s announcement:
During the meeting, project staff will discuss design themes and present conceptual drawings that were developed in response to the ideas community members shared at an all-day design workshop on Oct. 29. People are invited to review and comment on these early design plans, and to provide any additional feedback.
P.S. We recorded the project’s most recent open house, in October, on video, previously unpublished, in case you’re following closely and want to know what’s been said so far:
More information on the Murray CSO project is here.
Seattle Public Utilities says it’s almost finished with the hydrant upgrades promised after water-flow problems hampered firefighters’ work to extinguish the flames that destroyed an Arbor Heights home on August 27(WSB photo at right). We spoke with SPU today, after Arbor Heights resident Kevin McClintic clued us to work that’s been under way in the area this week (and shared the photo atop this story).
According to SPU’s Ingrid Goodwin, “Ten of the 12 hydrants that were identified for upgrades have been replaced with larger, standard-sized hydrants. The remaining two hydrants, located at 107th SW and 35th Ave SW, and 100th Street and 35th Ave, are scheduled to be replaced by the week of November 14.”
During work yesterday, several Arbor Heights residents noted on the WSB Facebook page that they lost water service but hadn’t received advance notification. Goodwin says SPU had warned “about 15 to 20 homes along 100th between 39th SW and 44th SW” that they would lose water yesterday, but the shutdown affected more homes than those. She said, “This was not supposed to happen, and we apologize for the disruption in water service to those customers. SPU is investigating why those homes, outside of the shut-down area, were affected.”
The new hydrants are painted yellow “for greater visibility,” Goodwin says, adding that while they originally planned to upgrade 11, a twelfth was identified and added to the list.
Ahead – see the list of the replacement hydrants’ locations:Read More
Mayor McGinn‘s been on the road all morning – including visits to West Seattle Elementary and West Seattle High School – our stories on those are coming up shortly, but first, an early-morning stop at Seattle City Light‘s control facility in Ballard. That’s of interest to WS because the topic was how the city – particularly its electric utility – is better prepared for winter windstorms than, oh, say, five years ago (anyone remember December 2006?). We tried to make it over to Ballard to cover it in person but – no exaggeration – almost-winter weather set us back (we walked out of the house this morning to a much-iced windshield and couldn’t find the scraper!). So here’s the Seattle Channel video. We’re betting they talked about the SCL mobile website we mentioned here yesterday; will add other toplines later, for anyone who can’t (or doesn’t have time to) check out the video.
ADDED 12:46 PM: Most of the toplines are in the official city news release that’s since been sent out; the mayor also noted that SCL has 50+ more lineworkers than at the time of Windstorm ’06 – read the news release (including family preparedness advice, which the mayor also stressed) after the jump:Read More
Good to keep in mind as storm season approaches – and for other reasons – Seattle City Light now has a mobile site – just announced at m.seattle.gov/light:
On the site, customers can report a streetlight problem, get information about outages, read City Light news, get money-saving energy conservation tips, or find links to contact the utility on other matters. Customers who are signed up for eBilling also can pay their bills. The mobile site is accessible to any phone with an Internet connection. A free mobile app is now available on the Android Market that will launch the mobile-enabled web pages. An iPhone version is pending with Apple for distribution in the iTunes store. … City Light already is looking at ways to enhance its mobile site. Customers who use it are encouraged to send feedback and suggestions for potential additions to webteam.scl@seattle.gov
6:26 PM: Thanks to the WSB’ers who texted us with news of a power outage on Alki. It’s confirmed on the Seattle City Light “system status” map – 131 homes/businesses, blamed on a tree, estimated restoration late tonight. The map shows it affecting people east/northeast of 54th, also upslope on Bonair. More as we get it.
8:09 PM UPDATE: The outage is now off the SCL map – indicating it’s been fixed. (If not, let us know!)
A CSO is what happens when heavy rainfall overloads the capacity of existing tanks at treatment plants. Excess water is deposited directly into Puget Sound, Lake Washington and other streams and creeks without being treated — putting oil, toxins, and raw sewage directly into our waterways.
You may have heard about CSOs here before over the past two years – but that was about the plans for county facilities; now, it’s the city’s turn.
Work crews are scheduled to be in the Lowman Beach area this week and next, doing work related to the county’s plan for a million-gallon storage tank to reduce sewer-system overflows into Puget Sound at Murray Pump Station. County spokesperson Annie Kolb-Nelson confirms drill rigs will be in the area to begin “geotechnical boring,” explaining: “Basically, a contractor will be drilling six small-diameter holes (about 6 inches) to test soil and groundwater conditions. Engineers will use the data to help design the facilities.” The six spots above show where they’re drilling. Here’s a flyer with full details – note there might be traffic effects in the area as the work proceeds over the next two weeks. Kolb-Nelson also confirms that one of the area’s property owners has accepted a purchase offer. The county has to buy the land (currently privately owned and residential) across from Lowman Beach Park, one way or another, to build the project (which is explained here), and could obtain it via “eminent domain” if necessary. More details about the project’s status are expected at a community meeting this Thursday, 6:30 pm in the hall at Fauntleroy Church (9140 California SW).
As the county starts to design the project meant to reduce combined-sewer overflows from Lowman Beach’s Murray Pump Station, there are two updates: First, a community meeting has just been announced for October 20th, 6:30 pm at Fauntleroy Church. The “facility design process and project schedule” will be presented. Second, the county is now recruiting 12 people to be on a Design Advisory Group for the rest of this year, and most if not all of 2012. The Murray CSO-control project involves building a huge underground storage tank on what is currently residential property across the street from Lowman Beach Park. Interested in being on the advisory group? More details of what’s involved, who they’re looking for, and who to contact, are on this flyer.
So says Seattle City Light, with whom we checked after we – and two WSB’ers who e-mailed us – noticed a sudden stretch of streetlights in the dark on the Fauntleroy Expressway end of the westbound West Seattle Bridge. SCL spokesperson Suzanne Hartman checked it out; we also noted an SCL truck near Walking on Logs this afternoon; and tonight, Hartman says crews fixed a “blown fuse” and that should have the lights on again.
Thanks to Cluny and Debbie for e-mailing to report a power outage caused by a fallen tree. Seattle City Light‘s status map says it’s affecting at least 27 customers (homes/businesses), in stretches both west and east of the Delridge/Orchard intersection, where Debbie says the signal’s out as a result, and to the south. City Light lists the estimated time of power restoration as 11 am. (Though the wind’s relatively calm at the moment, we have multiple reports of blustery conditions in the 4 am hour, when the tree came down, so this may be the first effect of the storm systems that brought the alert noted here last night.)
9:24 AM UPDATE: Just back from checking it out – adding photos. The entire 4-way intersection of Delridge/Orchard is marked with signs since the signal is out; Orchard/Dumar is closed east of Delridge, since that’s where the City Light crews are working.
11:18 AM UPDATE: The City Light map shows two more small outages – one that had been mentioned in comments on our earlier weather report, in the Admiral area, cause “unknown,” and the other further south on Delridge, at Kenyon, listed as “bird/animal”-related.
11:53 AM UPDATE: Just checked the Delridge/Orchard intersection – the traffic signal’s working again, but the road east of Delridge is still closed. Commenter from Admiral says that outage is over too.
EVENING NOTE: The road to the east is fully open again, too.
On Sept. 21, crews with King County’s clean-water utility will begin a two-day project to replace corroded equipment inside a sewer structure on Southwest Spokane Street between Beach Drive Southwest and 62nd Avenue Southwest [map].
For safety reasons, the work is scheduled between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. when system flows are lowest. Though most work will take place below ground, neighbors might experience noise and glare associated with construction vehicles and generators. During work hours, traffic will be reduced to one lane of local access on Southwest Spokane Street. Flaggers will be on site to assist drivers.
It’s possible some work may need to occur during daytime hours on Sept. 26. People with questions can contact Heidi Sowell, King County Wastewater Treatment Division community services planner at Heidi.Sowell@kingcounty.gov or 206-684-1207 or 711 TTY.
If you have driven by the South Transfer Station project just southeast of West Seattle, and wondered why it looks like it’s being taken apart – you’re not seeing things. After tips via e-mail and Twitter, we checked this morning with Seattle Public Utilities, and spokesperson Susan Stoltzfus acknowledges, yes, “there is some disassembly.” She explains that a more-durable paint was found during construction – after some of the framework had already been painted – and, “once we found we could save $3 million in maintenance costs over the life of the structure, we decided it was worth the upgrade.” She says the overall project will still be finished on time and within its budget, and they are “using three different paint shops” to accelerate the process of sandblasting off the original paint and applying the new paint. The reason paint matters so much, she says, is because the transfer station is considered a “wet environment.” (Our photo at right is from this July story; we plan to go by this morning to see how much “disassembly” is visible.)
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If you have driven by the
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