West Seattle, Washington
24 Friday
Last fall, when the West Seattle Transportation Coalition got briefed on a possible WS location for a public electric-vehicle “fast-charging” location (WSB coverage here), the city was looking at Don Armeni Boat Ramp. Now, there’s an official proposal, and the location has changed: City Light is proposing a site in The Junction, alongside West Seattle Bowl.
Here’s a ground-level rendering of where it would be:
From the City Light one-sheet (PDF) about the proposal:
If built, the location will include two 50-kilowatt (kW) fast chargers located along the curb. Two existing street parking spaces would be converted to “EV charging only” spaces, and drivers would be limited to one hour of parking while charging at these spaces. These 50kW fast chargers can provide a typical EV with about three miles of range for every minute of charging. Average charging sessions are expected to last for 15 to 30 minutes. The chargers are anticipated to have a useful life of ten years.
The one-sheet also explains why this location is proposed, and why others were ruled out, including Don Armeni; that explanation – “(Seattle Parks) identified Don Armeni Boat Ramp as a potential charging station site in West Seattle. However, the site development costs were too high.”
The charging station would cost the city almost $200,000 (users pay for charging, in case you’re not familiar with how these work); regarding a timeline, City Light says it would “begin the engineering and design process in the second/third quarter of 2019. Construction is scheduled to follow.”
If you have feedback about this proposal, the city has set up an online survey that’ll remain open until the end of the month – see it here. The SCL program has already opened one station on Beacon Hill – here’s a city-provided photo:
The city has five others on the drawing board (also listed on the one-sheet) in addition to, potentially, this one. Questions? The City Light Public EV Charging Team is at 206-684-3800 or SCL_ElectricVehicles@seattle.gov.
As we showed you earlier this week, it’s salmon-release season at Fauntleroy Creek – part of the annual lifecycle since community advocacy led to work that brought the creek back to life. Part of it remains underground, carried in culverts, and some sections need to be replaced, so Seattle Public Utilities is in the early stages of figuring out how. Back in March, SPU offered opportunities to offer early-stage comments. If you missed those, it’s not too late to comment – SPU reopened its online survey seeking your opinion. As the (short) survey explains:
Design options present tradeoffs. This includes the opportunity to enhance creek habitat with open channel sections. However, these features require retaining walls and potential realignment that can have greater short-term construction impacts, as well as require long-term changes to existing site conditions.
So they’re asking about your priorities – when you can spare a moment or two to comment, go here. (Background info from the March open house is here.)
Last night’s low was into the 40s. No heat at Kristin‘s house in West Seattle – and she wanted to be sure what happened to her doesn’t happen to you.
Kristin and her family weren’t home when Puget Sound Energy came by for some gas-meter maintenance on Tuesday. The maintenance led to their gas service being shut off – and left off – and they had to make an appointment to get it turned back on.
What she learned, and what we confirmed when checking on this with PSE, is that the date/time was announced by postal mail – but the utility does not require confirmation. If they don’t hear from you, they’ll just assume that date/time is OK with you. And if no one’s home, instead of coming back some other time or rescheduling, they’ll do the work anyway, and leave you to work out the logistics of getting the gas turned back on.
PSE spokesperson Janet Kim told us that you generally should be able to get a crew to come do that same-day. But Kristin didn’t get a call back until this morning – saying that someone would be by sometime before midnight. (We’re waiting to hear back if and when they showed up.)
By the way, while researching this, we learned something we hadn’t heard, despite being PSE gas customers ourselves – like Seattle City Light, PSE is switching to “smart meters.” The map on their website says West Seattle changes will be made this year. But PSE’s Kim says that hasn’t started yet, so that’s not what was done at Kristin’s house.
From the “early alert” file – King County sent this alert. Not even at the meeting stage yet, but in case you like to be in the loop as early as possible:
King County Wastewater Treatment Division is in the planning stages of a project that could result in some construction along Beach Drive in about two years – 2021.
The goal of the project is to improve standby power for the Alki CSO Treatment Plant located at 3380 Beach Dr SW and the 63rd Ave Pump Station, located at 3535 Beach Drive SW. The Alki CSO Treatment Plant operates during heavy rainfall and the 63rd Ave Pump Station is designed to send wastewater flows to Alki. Having a reliable source of standby power will reduce the number of overflows of stormwater combined with wastewater from the pump station. We are still developing alternatives for the power source.
If you would like to stay informed as the project develops, please send your email address to caryn.sengupta@kingcounty.gov.
If you can’t quite place it – the CSO plant is the big facility right across from Constellation Park, south of Alki Point. The county operates four facilities of this type.
ADDED 2:30 PM: We also note that there are some early-stage filings about this in the city system – you can follow the project here. We have substituted the early-stage site plan atop this story, replacing the county file photo with which this was originally published.
4:26 PM: Thanks for the tips. A big power outage that’s mostly to the south has affected a few West Seattle pockets – such as Arrowhead Gardens. Here’s the outage map. City Light says via Twitter that a crash on East Marginal Way is to blame. Updates to come.
4:38 PM: The crash in question is on East Marginal Way in Tukwila [map], according to the Seattle Fire log – while it’s not in city limits, they’ve sent mutual aid. We’ve added a screen grab of much of the outage area (which stretches further into Burien beyond what’s shown – they’ve even closed City Hall early for the day as a result). In the full affected area, more than 16,000 homes and businesses are without power.
5:13 PM: Take note that the outage situation is causing traffic effects in a variety of places. For one, East Marginal is closed south of the South Park Bridge, as Trickycoolj points out in comments – Tukwila Police have tweeted this photo and explained that multiple power poles have been taken out:
There is a vehicle in the roadway that was struck by a power line that fell into the road. There are two people trapped inside the vehicle at this Rome. Crews are working to deactivate the lines and safely extract the two trapped inside. pic.twitter.com/tEekhPVNDu
— Tukwila Police (@TukwilaPD) April 5, 2019
We’re currently on Highway 516 westbound just east of Burien, about to exit to northbound 509, and it’s backed up – likely because much of Burien is caught up in the outage. Remember that a dark signal means all-way stop.
5:57 PM: Almost everyone’s back on – all but 300+.
6:16 PM: Back at the original outage site:
Both individuals in the vehicle have been safely extracted from it by Tukwila FD. 1 victim had a superficial injury & the other had non-life threatening injuries & was transported by ambulance. The roadway is expected to be closed for an extended time. pic.twitter.com/zwy8kh2Qhc
— Tukwila Police (@TukwilaPD) April 6, 2019
TV coverage shows multiple poles fell.
SATURDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: The road has reopened, according to Tukwila Police, though: “Several intersections will be without power for at least several days. Four-way stop signs are in place.”
After seeing an online discussion about trash-can changes in Beacon Hill – some customers getting a larger can without increased capacity – Scott wondered if the same swapout is going to happen here. So we checked with Seattle Public Utilities spokesperson Sabrina Register, who says yes, in fact, it is, and the new cans/carts either are about to start arriving or already have. If you have a 20-gallon solid-waste container, Waste Management wlll replace it with a new one that has, Register explains, “the same dimensions as the existing Rehrig-brand 32g-service garbage cart, but will have a tan-color insert (screwed in) that reduces the cart’s capacity to 20-gallons.The inserts are not designed to be removed or added (again, screwed in/permanent). The new carts are better for drivers and customers because they roll and have attached lids.” This shouldn’t be a surprise; Register says affected customers should have received postcards (like this one) that were sent in late January.
P.S. Register also reminded us that, unrelated to this, SPU’s garbage rates are going up next month. This chart shows the change.
(Added: Video of tree/wire fire, from Betsy)
5:25 PM: We’ve received widespread reports of brief power flickers, and some heard two “booms.” Now there’s a report of a power line down at 26th/Juneau, with what firefighters arriving in the area describe as a “small brush fire” – they’re awaiting City Light.
5:55 PM: Just went by the scene. City Light is there. The downed wire has ceased “arc-ing and spark-ing.” The site is just east of the Delridge Substation.
5:57 PM: And now, a 6,200+-customer outage, mostly south of that site. Related? We don’t know. But some traffic signals are affected – on Barton at Westwood Village, for example, and Delridge/Holden.
6:07 PM: We are at WWV. Some stores are out but some (notably, east-facing) are not.
6:23 PM: A variety of areas are affected, including parts of Fauntleroy, where the culvert-info open house is on thanks to light from big windows. Above, another signal that’s out – 35th/Barton. Remember it’s a 4-way stop if it’s not working.
7:05 PM: Some areas got power back, according to texts and comments. The SCL map isn’t reflecting that yet.
7:15 PM: Now the map shows all but a few should have power back. If you don’t – please call SCL to be sure they know – 206-684-3000.
7:43 PM: SCL tweeted that a tree is to blame for the outage. Meantime, we’ve added nearby resident Betsy‘s video of the 26th/Juneau tree fire atop this story.
9:15 PM: 400+ customers are still out, per the outage map.
12:53 AM: Those 407 customers are still out. If you’re among them, please let us know when your power is restore – there’s no online record otherwise; the outage just vanishes from the SCL map (which we’ve just screengrabbed).
11:43 AM: Thanks for the tips. This has just appeared on the Seattle City Light outage map – more than 2,400 customers affected by an outage in the Highland Park area. Meantime, SFD is responding to a call at 1st Avenue S. and Cloverdale described as possibly involving a transformer. Updates to come.
11:49 AM: Added the outage map – note that it also includes part of South Park. Meantime, per radio communication, SFD is still investigating the incident to which Engine 11 was dispatched.
12:05 PM: As noted in comments, and if you zoom in on the map, the outage includes Louisa Boren STEM K-8 and a small pocket around it.
12:38 PM: Also noted in comments, the main outage zone includes Highland Park Elementary. Meantime, SFD has closed out the aforementioned call. And SCL has estimated a restoration time of 3 pm – but as always, we caution that those are really just guesses and it could be much sooner – or much later.
12:59 PM: HP Elementary wants to be sure parents know that the phones aren’t working because of the outage. Still no word on its cause – if you see City Light crews in your vicinity, let us know (206-293-6302 is our hotline, text or voice).
1:47 PM: About 500 customers – including HP Elementary – have been restored, per the outage map. We’re still seeking info from SCL about the cause.
2:21 PM: Another ~400 are connected again.
3:55 PM: 1,500 customers still out after 4 hours. No new restoration estimate – nor cause – from SCL yet.
Continuing @SEACityLight outage in Highland Park has 16th/Holden light out. 4-way stop, everyone! pic.twitter.com/rHejjKP0cP
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) February 27, 2019
4:51 PM: As noted in comments, SCL has posted this update via Twitter: “Crews are still looking for the primary cause of these outages. It’s a process of visually inspecting overhead lines, so please bear with us as the work is done. New estimated time of restoration: 6 PM.”
5:03 PM: A slightly more detailed version of that update, via email from SCL spokesperson Julie Moore: “Crews are still investigating to determine the primary cause. They are working through what we call a step restoration – a process of visually inspecting overhead lines and restoring sections as they go along. The number of affected customers is now down to about 1,000.”
5:54 PM: 6+ hours after this outage began, City Light just tweeted, “Power has been restored to all but one customer affected by the West Seattle/Highland Park/South Park outage. Thank you for your patience, everyone!” (If you are still out, be sure to let SCL know – 206-684-3000.)
Thanks for the tips on these:
WATER BREAK: If you are anywhere near 36th/Raymond and you are having water trouble, that could be the cause – a broken line. It has been reported to Seattle Public Utilities; no repair crew there yet when we went over to check. We have a call out to find out the extent of the break.
POWER OUTAGE: We got a question about streetlights being out near 24th/Roxbury but homes unaffected. The Seattle City Light map shows what it calls a “planned outage” in the area affecting 26 customers.
That’s the big dumpster you’ll find on the west side of the West Seattle Stadium parking lot until 3 pm, if you just can’t wait for snow-delayed garbage pickup any longer. As announced by the city, you can bring your trash – no recycling or yard/food waste, just trash – here (4432 35th SW) for free dropoff, today only. Seattle Public Utilities has people there to help if you need it – otherwise, drive/ride up, drop off, leave, no waiting while we were there. Residents with delayed pickup are also welcome to bring a carload or truckload of trash, recycling, and/or yard/food waste to South Transfer Station (130 S. Kenyon) until 5:30 today or 8 am-5:30 pm Sunday, for free.
(Photo tweeted by @seattlespu and @mayorjenny accounts, unidentified location)
To recap before night’s end, here’s the newest info from Seattle Public Utilities, via its newest update and questions to which we obtained answers via email:
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SATURDAY: If you are a Monday, Thursday, or Friday customer, and you haven’t been picked up yet, keep your garbage bins out tomorrow. SPU adds, “We will also attempt to collect Thursday and Friday customers’ recycling and food/yard waste” continuing on Saturday.
Tomorrow, you can also drop off trash (no recycling or food/yard waste) 10 am-3 pm at West Seattle Stadium (4432 35th SW).
And all weekend, delayed-pickup customers can also take one carload or truckload (420 pounds maximum combined weight) of trash/recycling/yard waste to a transfer station. The nearest is South, 130 S. Kenyon, and it’s open 8 am-5:30 pm Saturday and Sunday.
IF YOU’RE A TUESDAY CUSTOMER: If your recycling was missed this week and wouldn’t normally be picked up again until a week from Tuesday, SPU’s Sabrina Register told us in response to our question – put it out anyway: “Tuesday customers whose recycling was not picked up last week should set out their recycling cart this coming Tuesday, Feb. 19th. Crews will attempt to pick up all recycling that was not picked up from Tuesday customers last week.”
ABOUT THAT CREDIT: If you missed two pickups, whether you’re a Monday or Tuesday customer, you don’t have to report it to SPU to be eligible for the $10 credit, Register says.
(WSB photo: Waste Management truck southwest of Morgan Junction late Wednesday afternoon)
5:54 PM: The city has announced new plans for residents who have missed trash, recycling, and yard waste because of the storm. Here’s the full announcement:
Following the historic series of winter storms that hit the Seattle region over the past 11 days, Mayor Jenny A. Durkan and Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) announced they will provide a $10 billing credit to residential customers who had two or more missed garbage collections due to inclement weather. The credit will be issued within two regular billing cycles for impacted customers, which are primarily customers with Monday service. In addition, any customers who have experienced delays in solid waste collection can put out additional bags of garbage, recycling or yard waste free of charge.
“Our foremost goal as a City is to deliver on essential services like garbage, water and power. Our City departments have been working around the clock during this historic weather event clearing our streets, repairing power lines and bringing our most vulnerable neighbors inside,” said Mayor Jenny Durkan. “We thank Seattle residents for their patience in this time, which is why we are providing a credit to our customers for their missed service.”
The series of winter storms that the Seattle region caused an 11-day stretch of weather has adjusted and delayed the collection of garbage, recycling, and compost for 150,000 residential households and 6,000 multi-family accounts. At every safe weather opportunity, drivers collected waste from as many customers as possible, including critical locations like hospitals, multi-family buildings and high-volume commercial customers.
“We thank our customers for their understanding during the unprecedented weather we have experienced over the past several weeks. We are committed to catching up completely on our collections as soon as possible and anticipate we will be back on a normal schedule next week,” said General Manager Mami Hara. “I especially want to thank our crews who have been navigating difficult roads and standing by for any windows of clear weather to collect our residents’ solid waste.”
The improved weather through the weekend will allow additional pickups to service customers who have been significantly delayed in solid waste pickup. Crews are prioritizing pickup for as many Monday customers as possible by deploying additional resources. Monday, Thursday, and Friday customers who have not received service are asked to put their bins and bags out to the curb beginning Friday, February 15 for pickup Friday or Saturday. Seattle Department of Transportation has also deployed their crews to assist SPU contractors by plowing streets where they encounter difficulties. Seattle Parks and Seattle Housing Authority will also assist Seattle Public Utilities as they work to resume normal pickups.
While Seattle Public Utilities will be working to pick up residential garbage, Seattle Public Utilities will also provide garbage drop-off sites on Saturday from 10 am-3 pm in the following four locations at no charge:
West Seattle Stadium-35th Ave SW & SW Snoqualmie St.
[not in West Seattle but FYI]
Lower Woodland – 50th and Whitman
Magnuson – 65th street lot, Parking Lot E
Interbay – 17th Ave. W. And W. Barrett Street
8:30 PM: The online version of this announcement ends with two more paragraphs – reaffirming a free period at the transfer stations through this weekend, and offering contact info if you are due a credit and don’t get it.
9:31 PM: As noted below in comments, we’ll seek some clarifications tomorrow. Pending that, we’ve already received one from SPU spokesperson Sabrina Register: “I want to stress that the pickup tomorrow is for garbage only, not recycling or compost. Extra crews will work hard tomorrow to get missed Monday customers but they may not be able to get all of them due to the number missed and/or continued challenging road conditions on certain streets.”
ADDED FRIDAY MORNING: Another SPU note about what’s happening today and tomorrow:
“I want to clarify that crews will be picking up garbage only, for Monday customers.
Thursday customers, who will be picked up today because of the one-day delay, should also set out their recycling and food/yard waste and crews will make every effort to pick up all solid waste from these customers.
Friday customers will get picked up tomorrow (Saturday). They should also set out garbage, recycling and food and yard waste and crews will make every effort to pick up all solid waste for Friday customers on Saturday.
9:24 AM: Just seen in Gatewood: A Waste Management truck. Several commenters in our morning report also mentioned their pickups had happened already, from North Delridge to Fauntleroy. To recap, here’s what the city has said since last night:
Solid waste crews plan to collect garbage from Monday and Tuesday customers (today), February 13th. Crews also plan to collect recycling from Monday customers in Northwest and Southwest Seattle (today). Customers missed last week may put out additional waste at no additional charge.
Collecting garbage from Monday customers whose waste was not picked up the last two Mondays is the priority. Therefore, recycling and food & yard waste not collected from Monday and Tuesday customers (today) will be collected next week, on February 18th and 19th. Customers may put out double the usual amount of recycling and food & yard waste at no additional charge.
All garbage, recycling, and food/yard waste will be collected for Wednesday customers on Thursday, Feb. 14
All garbage, recycling, and food/yard waste will be collected for Thursday customers on Friday, Feb. 15
All garbage, recycling, and food/yard waste will be collected for Friday customers on Saturday, Feb. 16
(For the above three, too) If your collection was missed last week, you may put out double the usual amount of recycling and food/yard waste at no additional charge.
…Additionally, Seattle residents significantly impacted by delayed pickups, due to icy residential streets, may visit the transfer stations for free February 13-16th. Customers are asked to indicate they are Seattle residents whose solid waste services have been delayed due to weather for more than a week.
There are some caveats on those free transfer-station visits – go here for the latest on that.
Meanwhile, Seattle Public Utilities (for whom Waste Management picks up residential solid waste) will be part of another 11 am mayor-and-department-heads briefing today, and we’ll add any new info that results. You can watch for the live stream here.
4:35 PM: Here’s the latest. We’ll update later this evening.
7:26 PM: Just in from SPU via Twitter:
Our trucks had significant challenges getting to all Monday and Tuesday areas today, even with chains and extra crews. If you are a Mon/Tues customer and your garbage was not collected today, it will be collected next week.
Customers whose collection was missed may also bring their garbage, recycling, and food/yard waste to our north or south transfer stations for free. More info here: https://atyourservice.seattle.gov/2019/02/06/solid-waste-collection-resumes-feb-6/ … We know this can be frustrating. Thank you for your continued patience.
Thanks to the neighbors who’ve sent word about this: Some Arbor Heights residents have no water, and others have brown water, because of a break on SW 100th, which is closed between 35th and 37th as a result. If you experience brown water at any time, by the way, remember to report it to the city even if you think they’re on it – 206-386-1800.
We can attest to Waste Management trucks being back out in West Seattle neighborhoods today – we saw that one in Upper Fauntleroy, and another on Avalon just north of Luna Park. Seattle Public Utilities said again today that their plan is to pick up on a day-delayed basis for the rest of the week, and Monday customers can put out double next Monday. So, a few Monday customers asked us, what about recycling, since that otherwise wouldn’t be picked up again until February 18th – will they send recycling trucks around next Monday? We took the question to SPU spokesperson Sabrina Register, who replied:
SPU will attempt to collect the missed recycling from Feb 4 on Monday Feb 11. However, this requires substantial extra trucks and drivers for this unscheduled recycle pickup, so we can’t guarantee we will collect it all. And then additional snow on Friday could, unfortunately, impact access on Monday.
If you weren’t around for the long-running snow event in 2008 – that one led to enough problems, there were even City Council hearings.
1:01 AM: Getting reports of a power outage – so far hearing from Gatewood, Arbor Heights, The Arroyos. Anyone else?
1:07 AM: Big outage – just showed on the map (always a lag). 4,700+ homes/businesses.
1:10 AM: No official word of the cause yet but we have at least two reports from Gatewood of a “zap” heard and flashes seen. (Added atop this story: Screengrab of City Light map, for the record.)
1:21 AM: As noted in comment discussion, SCL has assigned an estimated restoration time of 7 am, but those are always just guesstimates – could be much sooner … or later.
2:01 AM: Second hour of the outage. SCL says its crews are still investigating.
2:32 AM: After an hour and a half, we’re getting reports that at least some have their power back.
2:37 AM: The SCL map is now updated. 3,000+ customers still out.
2:51 AM: And now everybody else (except for 1 customer) is back on, the map shows. (Added) SCL says via Twitter that while the cause is still under investigation, crews “rerouted power to restore the affected area.”
ADDED TUESDAY: SCL says an underground cable failure caused the outage.
12:52 PM: The Seattle City Light outage map is itself out so we can’t gauge the situation without getting SCL comment, but we received some reports of flickering about an hour ago, and one report of power lost in Pigeon Point. Anyone still out, please let us know – thanks!
12:58 PM: The “full screen” version of the outage map is working – via that and a call to SCL’s media line, we’re told two areas are having problems – about three dozen customers between Charlestown Hill and Beach Drive, and the Pathfinder K-8 school area of Pigeon Point.
1:44 PM: Update from City Light – the school outage is resolved; the other two outages have separate causes, one related to a meter installation, one related to a fallen tree. And the main outage map should be functioning again by late this evening.
Out of the WSB inbox, from the mayor’s office:
As furloughed federal workers across the country and across Seattle continue to be hurt by President Donald Trump’s partial shutdown of the federal government, Seattle Mayor Jenny A. Durkan issued a new Executive Order to help impacted federal employees with their utility payments.
The partial shutdown began on December 22, 2018 and is now in its 32nd day. According to an analysis by Governing Magazine, the State of Washington has over 54,000 federal employees. Approximately 11,000 of them work in agencies currently without appropriations and are being directly impacted by the shutdown by working without pay or being furloughed.
Nationally, it is estimated that 800,000 federal employees across the country are working without pay or are currently on furlough.
Mayor Durkan’s Executive Order (EO) builds on existing City assistance programs. The EO directs Seattle City Light (SCL), Seattle Public Utilities (SPU), the City Budget Office (CBO), and the Human Services Department (HSD) to immediately develop a plan to offer deferral of utility bill payments to federal employees and community members who have been negatively impacted by the federal government partial shutdown.
“Every day that the crisis of the government shutdown continues, public servants in Seattle are forced to live without knowing if they can provide for their families – and Seattle is put at risk by the lack of federal services that we rely on, from earthquake monitoring to the Coast Guard to affordable housing support,” said Mayor Durkan. “We are acting urgently to help support Seattle families being hurt by the Trump shutdown. But to truly help families and help Seattle, we need the White House to re-open the federal government today.”
The four City departments will develop their plan for initial execution by this Friday, January 25. The program will include a phone number for impacted residents to call for eligibility information and enrollment.
The shutdown continues to threaten our most vulnerable residents throughout Seattle, the Puget Sound, and Washington State. The shutdown is impacting nutrition assistance programs, TSA agents, federal grant programs, and earthquake monitoring capabilities in the Northwest.
Federal offices in and around Seattle where federal employees are either furloughed or are working without pay include:
· NOAA’s Western Regional Center in Sand Point
· NOAA’s Seattle Forecast Office
· NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center & Alaska Fisheries Science Center in Montlake
· NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Sand Point
· The Federal Detention Center in SeaTac
· U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington
· Seattle Immigration Court
· EPA’s Pacific Northwest Regional Office
· Federal Trade Commission’s Northwest Regional Office
· U.S. Coast Guard Base Seattle
· TSA & FAA Employees at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
· HUD’s Seattle Regional Office
· USGS Earthquake Hazards Seattle Field Office
· Small Business Administration’s Seattle Office
· Seattle’s IRS Service CenterThe City of Seattle has several ongoing programs to ensure that residents are able to afford basic services such as water, sewer, garbage, and electricity. The City’s Utility Discount Program offers reductions on Seattle City Light and Seattle Public Utilities bills to income eligible customers. Through Project Share, City of Seattle customers can set up individual payment plans and deferrals during times of financial hardship. The program is funded by donations from City of Seattle customers.
While we were out covering a meeting (story to come), residents near WSB HQ in Upper Fauntleroy noticed brown water. Even before we returned home to notice it’s affecting us too, they checked with Seattle Public Utilities, which told them it’s likely the result of hydrant usage during this afternoon’s fire call. So we’re using the occasion as a reminder – that’s one reason for discolored water, but always doublecheck with SPU at 206-386-1800 if it happens to you, because among other things it might be first sign of a water break. Here’s the official city advice on dealing with discolored water.
With crews resolving the last West Seattle outage of note from Sunday’s windstorm, Puget Ridge has power again and the main South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) campus will reopen tomorrow. That word is just in from SSC. One of Puget Ridge’s two triple-digit outages was fixed this morning, the other one this afternoon. Seattle City Light is now down to just over 50 customers out of power around its service area – it peaked at more than 50,000 after wind as high as 60 mph moved through early Sunday.
Two notes about the aftermath of the windstorm that hit early this morning:
POWER-RESTORATION WORK CONTINUES: After almost 22 hours without electricity, hundreds on Harbor Avenue SW are back online as of about half an hour ago. They were working in two spots – California/Harbor (photo above) and across from the entrance to Jack Block Park – when we went through the area just after 10 pm. That was the biggest remaining pocket but hundreds are still out in eastern West Seattle, primarily parts of Puget Ridge, and as a result:
LATE START FOR SOUTH SEATTLE COLLEGE’S MAIN CAMPUS ON MONDAY: As announced tonight:
Due to a power outage, South Seattle College (West Seattle campus only) will have a delayed start until 10 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 7. All classes starting before 10 a.m. are cancelled.
Any other changes, cancellations, delays – please let us know so we can report them too.
MONDAY P.S. As reported here, the college is now closed all day.
Post-windstorm updates:
1:53 PM: That’s the reason Harbor Avenue SW is closed by Jack Block Park – as we first reported in a 3:33 am update during our overnight storm coverage, the wind (gusting up to 60 mph) took down a pole and wires. Bicycles and pedestrians were being allowed through when we walked in for the photo a bit earlier. The 300+ Seattle City Light customers out in that area represent the largest outage remaining on the map for West Seattle, but SCL still has more than 9,000 customers out in more than 100 separate outages around its service area, so its crews have a lot of work ahead. Some restoration work might temporarily lead to new outages, SCL explains (which has happened in parts of unincorporated North Highline, including North Shorewood, as crews work on a broken pole that handles three “feeders”).
5:17 PM: More than 500 customers are still out in West Seattle, including the 300+ in the Harbor vicinity, one of 100+ different outages remaining on the SCL map.
8:56 PM: New outage reported in Admiral area; we flickered in Fauntleroy.
Another West Seattle business got the utility-bill scam phone call today and wanted to share the alert. Sleepers in Seattle in The Junction tells WSB they got one of those calls where the claim is made that a utility bill has gone unpaid and cutoff is looming unless payment is made immediately. All local utilities have issued repeated reminders that they don’t do business this way – here’s the City Light scam-alert page, for example.
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