West Seattle, Washington
05 Sunday
Just out of the WSB inbox, multiple reports of brown water including this one from Grace: “Just wanted to report that I have brown water in Gatewood – 36th/Morgan. Called Seattle Public Utilities and sounds like they’ve been testing water hydrants.” SFD does most of that testing; but you still want to notify SPU if you have discolored or otherwise problematic water, 206-386-1800.
Thanks for the tips. 102 residences in south Arbor Heights/Seola have been without power since late last night. The Seattle City Light outage map blames it on a tree.
2:32 PM: SFD and SPD are on the scene of a crash that’s brought down a utility pole and wires in the 4800 block of Beach Drive [vicinity map] and report the entire street is blocked as a result. One person is reported injured. The Seattle City Light outage map says 58 customers are out of electricity, too.
3:26 PM: The photos are from WSB’s Jason Grotelueschen, who says the pickup truck in the photo below is the vehicle whose driver is reported to have hit the pole.
City Light is on scene and the street is still closed, though SFD has departed.
4:21 PM: The photo above is from Lura, showing City Light crews working at the scene. (Added below, a photo from Asher:)
6:34 PM: After four hours, Beach Drive is still closed, and if you’re going northbound from Lowman Beach you won’t know that until there’s finally a sign at Shore Place.
10:21 PM: Still closed after 8 hours. But a texter says “City Light team arrived in full force … Chainsawing the old pole out, getting ready to add the new pole and transformer.” They texted this photo too:
11 AM SUNDAY: Just went down to confirm, the work is done and road reopened. Meantime, the police data map confirms the driver was taken into custody for investigation of DUI.
Thanks to Terry for the report: “I’m in Gatewood up near California and Holden and our water just started coming out of the tap pretty darned brown.” Terry has reported this to the city – Seattle Public Utilities‘ round-the-clock number is 206-386-1800. Although it’s likely hydrant testing, which is accelerating now that spring is here, it’s always important to report discolored water, as it can sometimes be first word of a problem such as a pipe break.
Another brown-water report today. Carol reports via email, “Brown water in lower Gatewood. Evidence of hydrant testing along 44th Ave. SW.” That’s one main cause, as opening a hydrant – whether for testing or for fire-related use – stirs up the “sediment” (aka rust) in the line. But even if you think you know the cause, if your water is discolored, be sure to report it to Seattle Public Utilities at 206-386-1800.
A texter just reported brown water at a residence on Erskine Way, west of The Junction. Nothing current or recent on Seattle Public Utilities‘ water-trouble map, nor have there been any fires today; as always, if it happens to you, be sure to report it to SPU at 206-386-1800. We appreciate getting word too!
(WSB photo)
10:26 AM: Thanks for the tips! 45th SW is closed just north of SW Edmunds [map] because of a sinkhole blamed on a sewer problem. City crews are currently checking out the pipe’s condition as well as the condition of the street surrounding it.
(Reader photo)
A crew member on site told us they expect the closure to last at least a day. We’ll add anything more we find out.
(Reader photo)
5:58 PM: At day’s end, an SPU spokesperson sent us this update:
SPU crews conducted a thorough inspection and found no issues with the public sewer main. The sinking roadway panels that are impacting traffic on 45th Avenue SW near SW Edmunds may be caused by a privately-owned side sewer. The location is restricted to local access only at this time. SPU is in the process of contacting private-property owner(s) to determine next steps. More information about side sewers and their maintenance can be found on our website at https://www.seattle.gov/utilities/your-services/sewer-and-drainage/side-sewers
(Reader photo: Sign seen in project zone July 2021)
After another outage in the Brace Point area south of Fauntleroy last weekend, we followed up with Seattle City Light regarding the long-delayed upgrade project meant to increase the undergrounded system’s reliability in the area. SCL spokesperson Jenn Strang says the project finally has gone out to bid:
The cable replacement project construction package has officially gone to advertisement (Wednesday), with contractor bids scheduled to open on April 23rd, 2025. Once bids are open, we will go through an evaluation phase and proceed with signing a contract with the successful construction company. It is anticipated that notice to proceed will be issued by early summer 2025.
There’s backstory in this WSB archive story; the project originally was set to start five years ago, and “permit problems” were cited as a major reason for initial delays. Once the work starts, the project page says, it’s expected to last almost two years.
A reader called to report discolored water at her home in South Delridge. Nothing on the Seattle Public Utilities water-trouble map, current or recent. Reminder that if this happens at your home/business/school/etc., report it to SPU at 206-386-1800 (ALWAYS report it if your water is discolored); causes can include a water-line break or nearby fire-hydrant testing.
8:24 AM: Thanks for the tips. 319 Seattle City Light customers in Brace Point are reported out of power this morning, in an area hit by outages before.
9:54 AM: The SCL map shows the number of residences affected has since been halved, to 160 (screengrab added above). … Our archives show this is the first Brace Point-only outage in almost a year, since last April.
12:41 PM: As noted in comments, now the number of affected customers is back up to 319. The map also attributes the outage to “equipment failure” (historically, that’s meant trouble with the underground cable in the area – we will be following up with SCL).
2:40 PM: Area neighbor Nathan, one of the original tipsters (thank you!) about this, sent that photo of an SCL crew with whom he spoke this past hour: “Just talked to the crew working at 47th and 98th, they are still testing to locate exact location of the failed line.”
9:59 PM: After almost 15 hours, the power is back. We’ll be following up with SCL on Monday, including whether the years-overdue upgrade project in the area is really on track to finally start soon, as its website suggests.
ADDED: SCL says “a damaged cable and fuse” were to blame.
A county-operated pump station in South Alki is getting a standby generator so that power outages won’t lead to overflows. Some preparatory work near the 63rd Street Pump Station will start as soon as next Monday (March 10), and since beachgoers (and other Alki Point Healthy Street users) will need to know, as well as the residents who’ve likely already been notified, we’re publishing this notice about it:
King County will be digging holes to locate underground utilities … Crews will use a truck to dig up to 42 holes, about 12 inches wide and up to 9 feet deep each. After this work is complete, the holes will be filled in and the street will be repaired with temporary asphalt patches. This work helps us verify sewer, water, and gas utility lines before we start the main construction project.
King County will also replace three concrete panels along Beach Drive SW, adjacent to the 63rd Avenue Pump Station to meet Seattle Department of Transportation requirements. To ensure everyone’s safety, please do not approach the crews while they are working.
(Utility-locating work route)
SCHEDULE AND DATES
-Utility locating work is expected to begin as early as March 10 and take approximately 2-3 weeks to complete.
-Concrete slab replacement work is expected to begin as early as May and take approximately 4-8 weeks to complete.
LOCATION
Utility-locating work will start at the 63rd Ave Pump Station and follow the route marked with red dots, ending at the Alki Wet Weather Treatment Station (Alki WWTS). See map above for approximate route.
Concrete panel replacement work area is located near the intersection of Beach Dr SW and SW Spokane St. See Figure 2 for approximate work area.
(Concrete panel replacement work area)
ABOUT THE PROJECT
This clean-water project will ensure the 63rd Ave Pump Station has reliable power to help prevent stormwater and wastewater from overflowing into your neighborhood and Puget Sound. We will install conduit under the road along the dotted line in Figure 1. This work will involve excavation and lane closures.
Once construction is complete, all work areas will be restored to meet City of Seattle requirements and standards, including improved pedestrian ramps at Beach Dr SW and 64th Ave SW.
2025 Construction Overview
-March to May – Utility locating & concrete panel replacement work.
-Beginning as early as May 2025, crews will trench in the street to route the conduit starting from 63rd Ave Pump Station toward the Alki WWTS. Trenching and conduit installation is estimated to be completed by Fall 2025.2026 Construction Overview
-The installation of the generator at the Alki WWTS may begin as early as Fall 2025 and is estimated to completed by Fall 2026.
-Beginning as early as May 2026, crews will construct the transformer vault and cabinet at the 63rd Ave Pump Station. -This project is estimated to be completed by Fall 2026.
For more details on the work schedule starting as soon as next week, see the flyer here.
5:18 PM: As we head into evening, that’s the last major outage in not only West Seattle, but citywide, with the 1,600+ affected customers representing just under half the 3,800+ customers still out around Seattle City Light‘s entire territory. For earlier events, see our morning coverage here and midday/afternoon coverage here. Best news is that the wind has moved on, and we’re even expecting a break from the rain, tonight at least through Thursday – when the temperature could reach almost 60 degrees.
5:27 PM: As if by magic, a moment after we published this, the outage ended, and the SCL map now reflects that.
If you were planning on guitar-shopping before the day’s out – Thunder Road Guitars (6400 California SW; WSB sponsor) sadly won’t be able to help you today. They’re one of the Seattle City Light customers still out of power, and with the possibility it won’t be back until day’s end, proprietor Frank Gross tells us, he decided to close. Check out the shop tomorrow, 10 am-6 pm.
10:55 AM: The wind hasn’t entirely ebbed yet, but the official alert expired at 10 am and – at least in our observation – things are calming. Much of what we covered in our morning report has been resolved, so we’re starting fresh here with midday updates:
(Photo sent by Taylor)
TREE TROUBLE: The major roadblocking trees (Delridge Way, Olson Place, Holden) have been cleared by SDOT, as noted in our earlier coverage. But others are still awaiting clearance – like the one in the photo above, in the park near Delridge Community Center, west of the skatepark (thanks to everyone who sent tips and photos). And here’s another downed park tree, with some backstory:
This tree is at Highland Park. The large downed portion is covering half the road on SW Thistle between 11th and 12th.
As seen in the photo, the city knows about it and has already put caution tape around it this morning.
This is a favorite climbing tree of many kids who visit this park.
Seattle Parks also reissued its reminder that forested parks are places to avoid during high wind, and in general, when the wind kicks up, stay out from under trees. … In South Admiral, a texter reports this tree partly blocking at Walnut/Manning:
POWER OUTAGES: Many power outages were triggered by trees – City Light crews have been busy all night and morning – Al sent this photo from 47th/Eddy:
The largest remaining West Seattle outages are 1,600+ customers on the central west side of the peninsula, and almost 500 in Puget Ridge/Pigeon Point/North Delridge (see the darker markers):
We’ll continue adding to this story in the hours ahead – in general, give yourself extra time if you have to go somewhere, because you might encounter a downed-tree detour, or an intersection that’s stop-all-ways because a sign’s down or a signal’s out.
11:43 AM: The North Delridge/Pigeon Point/Puget Ridge outage is down to 215 customers.
12:30 PM: A caller wants to alert you that the California/Charlestown light is out, though everything around it seems to have power.
1:44 PM: A texter says this is where City Light is working to remedy the Seaview/Fairmount Park outage – “tree on power lines at 37th/Raymond”:
SCL has arborists in the trees (no alley access), but it looks like it will be a little while longer.
3:36 PM: Watch for low-hanging wires/cables – they’re not all live wires, but they can be dangerous just the same. One reader texted about one over the road at 55th/Andover.
3:59 PM: Also – beware of at least one flagpole! Our Lady of Guadalupe reports they’ve closed Myrtle between 35th and 34th (usually just closed during school hours) because of possible danger from their flagpole. They offer apologies to the neighbors.
6:24 PM: Eight hours or so into the High Wind Warning alert, the wind kicked up a short time ago (we heard thunder too!), and West Seattle has its first power outage of note – more than 250 customers in Seaview. People in the area report hearing a “boom” before the power went out. Updates to come …
6:56 PM: This storm seems to be arriving (and departing) in waves, and we’re between waves right now. The photo above is from James Bratsanos, who noticed it just before that intense wave of rain, wind, and thunder. So far the 256-customer Seaview outage is the only one in West Seattle; citywide it’s the second-largest after a 5,300+-customer outage in North Seattle.
7:43 PM: The SCL map shows the Seaview outage has been resolved.
2:36 AM: An area further south in Seaview and beyond has lost power this time:
City Light says this one is affecting 100+ customers. The wind is about the strongest-sounding we’ve heard all night.
Some readers have asked about the sinkhole coned off in the middle of 35th SW near SW Edmunds. We asked SDOT, which in turn pointed us to Seattle Public Utilities; SPU spokesperson Brad Wong tells WSB that crews investigated it today:
Seattle Public Utilities is monitoring and working on a void in the 4700 block of 35th Avenue Southwest, which was reported by the Seattle Department of Transportation.
On the morning of February 24, SPU crews completed an initial investigation and inspection of the roadway and found that a 10-inch combined sewer pipe had collapsed. Flow, though, was continuing. As of 1 p.m., SPU had not received any report about properties experiencing sewer backups.
SPU is working with SDOT on traffic control in the affected area, which is barricaded. SPU crews are moving a pump unit to the location as a preventive measure for any system backup. SPU expects the pipe rehabilitation work on the affected area to be finished in about two weeks.
This stirs memories of a water break that flooded 35th downhill from there, between Alaska and Avalon, in 2017. That, however, was blamed on a private line.
4:06 PM: Thanks to Dörte for the tip. The Seattle Public Utilities water-trouble map confirms a break at 34th/Juneau, with more than 30 customers affected. SPU hopes to have it fixed within a few hours. This is just a block north of an 8-inch pipe break one week ago.
5:33 PM: This one, like the one last week, was fixed so fast, crews were gone before we got there to check it out.
Seattle Public Utilities is still catching up from weather-affected collections missed last week, and has just acknowledged the missed-recycling situation, which some WSB commenters brought up:
Recycling may have been missed for Wednesday customers this week.
Please report it as a missed collection by calling it in to customer service line as we are aware online reporting is having issues.
As a reminder to all, if your collections were missed, please report it!
You can do that online here.
(Last Wednesday morning’s snow – photo by Janelle Otterholt)
With delays and cancellations in Seattle Public Utilities customers’ solid-waste-pickup service last week, SPU published this reminder today:
We aren’t quite out of the woods yet with the winter weather this week, so here are a few reminders:
Wednesday customers missed last week may set out twice the amount of garbage, recycling, and compost this week at no extra charge.
Any other customers missed last week should report a missed collection as usual.
As winter weather continues, please be sure to regularly check back in on the At Your Service blog for the latest updates. If your garbage collection was missed and there were no collection delays, please use the Utilities Services website to report a missed collection or call our customer service line 206-684-3000.
Though the update didn’t specifically mention Tuesday customers, SPU spokesperson Brad Wong told WSB last Friday that anyone missed on February 4th could call this morning for a special pickup.
Seattle Public Utilities sent us this notice, which is being circulated in the neighborhood but is likely of wider interest:
Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) is upgrading the water pump station in your neighborhood. The SW Spokane St Pump Station, constructed in 1928, supplies drinking water and fire protection services to parts of West Seattle. Due to its age, this critical facility is at risk of failure during an earthquake, and many of its systems need immediate repair or replacement.
Adjacent to the pump station, SPU will be conducting construction in the roadway for utility installation associated with the project. Travelers can expect periodic full and partial road closures for up to two months beginning in February 2025. During this period, the roadway may be open to traffic with or without construction flaggers depending on the construction schedule. Please plan additional time for travel and follow the signed detour route during full road closures. Periodic full and partial road closures are necessary for safe and timely completion of the work. This work ensures SPU can continue to provide reliable and safe drinking water and fire protection services to our customers.
LOCATION
This work will be done along SW Spokane St and 33rd Ave SW, adjacent to the pump station. Please see the map for the work location and detour route.SCHEDULE
Expect approximately two months of roadway impacts beginning as early as February 3. During the work period, SW Spokane St. may be closed or restricted. During road closures, please follow signed detours. Construction crews are expected to work Monday – Friday, 7 am – 5 pm. However, the road may remain closed for nights and weekends depending on the work schedule. Please note that the start date, duration, and working hours are subject to change due to permitting, weather, crew availability, and other factors.
You can find a bit more about the pump-station project in this SPU document.
7:02 PM: Thanks for the tip about a water outage in High Point. The Seattle Public Utilities water-trouble map confirms SPU is dealing with a water break at 34th/Raymond, affecting more than 30 customers; it was reported less than an hour ago. This comes as temperatures are expected to drop into the 20s tonight, so be extra-careful in that area in the morning!
9:04 PM: Fixed fast. We went through the area around 8:30 pm and the crew was already gone; the outage map says service was restored by 7:40.
ADDED: Brad Wong from SPU tells WSB, “It was an 8-inch distribution pipe. The cause is unknown.”
Here’s the official announcement of today’s cancellation, plus delays for the rest of the week, from Seattle Public Utilities:
Due to winter weather conditions, there will be no residential garbage, recycling, or food/yard waste pickup in Seattle today, Wednesday, February 5, 2025. SPU’s North and South transfer stations will open at 10 a.m. today.
Weather and road conditions permitting, garbage, recycling, and food/yard waste service will resume Thursday, February 6, on a revised schedule — with customers scheduled for pickup today, Wednesday, February 5, collected tomorrow. All remaining residential services will be delayed one day this week. For example, if your regular collection day is Friday, your garbage, recycling, and food/yard waste will be collected on Saturday this week. Customers should be sure to have their containers out by 7 a.m. to ensure collection.
If your materials are not picked up by the end of the following day, please put them out on your next regularly scheduled pickup day. Customers missed this week will be allowed to set out twice their normal amount of garbage, recycling, and yard waste at no additional charge, on their next scheduled collection day.
(WSB photo)
That sighting of brown water flushing from a hydrant is what tipped us to a water outage in Gatewood. We were out walking when we spotted a Seattle Public Utilities worker flushing the hydrant at 39th/Rose [map]; he told us they were clearing the water from a “branch” before restoring service following a break further east on Rose. The SPU water-trouble map says 40+ homes were affected by the break centered near 35th/Rose; we walked past the hydrant again about half an hour after taking the top photo, and the water was running clear.
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