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Comcast digital/HD changes in West Seattle, starting today
October 27, 2009 11:29 am
|      86 COMMENTS
 |   Utilities | West Seattle news

Three months ago, Comcast‘s Shauna Causey (a West Seattleite) sent word of upgrades on the way – here’s the story we published then. She just e-mailed word that they’re taking effect starting today – “In West Seattle: Comcast is converting channels 30 and above to a digital format today. We’re launching the HD channels in West Seattle on Nov. 24.” It’s part of what Comcast calls “The World of More,” explained here.

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Video: Go underground with the mayor at West Seattle Reservoir
October 21, 2009 12:15 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Utilities | West Seattle news | West Seattle video

No, that’s not a rerun of the video featured here after the media tour of Beacon Hill Reservoir last year – it’s a brand-new look at the work to cover (underground) West Seattle Reservoir adjacent to Westcrest Park (map). When it’s done next year and ready to hold water, the man who had the idea to cover the reservoirs won’t be mayor any more – so he came out today for a firsthand look at part of his legacy. During the tour, we asked Mayor Nickels, now that much of the reservoir-covering work he started is done at several sites around the city, what he thinks about the decision to change from “floating covers” that originally were in the works:

The city decided to cover half of the original reservoir site (the southern half), and leave the other half as open space. The other city reservoir in West Seattle has been covered – Myrtle; it’s much smaller, but the project has taken longer because the waterproofing needed to be replaced (here’s the story we broke three months ago, and our most recent followup) – lessons learned from that will ensure that the same part of the process does not encounter the same problem here. Meantime, last time we visited the Westcrest site, in May, the uncovered half looked like this:

Now it’s been hydroseeded, and Canada geese have taken up residence on the lush grass – take a look at the difference. Bill Duyungan from Seattle Public Utilities is the voice you hear in this clip talking about it:

The grass-covered side also has special drainage features – it’s something of a swale, SPU managers explained. Though the undergrounding structure work is almost done, the entire project is more like half complete. The project manager from Seattle Public Utilities, Stephanie Murphy, gave a quick rundown on the numbers –30 million gallons capacity for the covered reservoir, with the covering work to be complete by year’s end (more concrete will be poured tomorrow; the pour’s been under way intermittently since March) and filling scheduled for next summer. She was asked how it’ll be connected with the existing park:

We also got a look at the workings inside – including the electrical vault, with pumps and earthquake protection equipment – as explained when we toured the site in May, it’s got a special setup to make sure the reservoir stays half full even if a seismic event causes it to lose some water. The vault is accessible from a set of stairs leading down from part of the north edge of the cover. Here’s part of what’s inside:

The completion of the reservoir will create 21 new acres of park space that will connect to the existing Westcrest Park; $3 million from the Parks and Green Spaces Levy passed last year will be used to design and build the park’s features – the community-involvement process hasn’t officially begun yet, but the Highland Park Action Committee will be closely involved – its next meeting is a week from tonight, fourth Wednesday of the month (7 pm, Highland Park Improvement Club building). As for the mayor – as much fun as it must be to come out and have a look at part of your legacy, a structure that will be in place for decades, he has an interesting rest of the week ahead; we asked what’s ahead for him in the next few days, and he mentioned that on Sunday, he plays host to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

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West Seattle Weather Watch: Help keep the street drains clear
October 17, 2009 4:45 pm
|    Comments Off on West Seattle Weather Watch: Help keep the street drains clear
 |   Utilities | West Seattle news | West Seattle weather

drain.jpg

(2008 photo from Nancy in North Delridge, showing a drain in need of clearing)
With our sunbreak/downpour/breeze/repeat cycle of weather today, it’s the perfect public-service announcement of sorts: The city just sent out a reminder about keeping storm drains clear, and a project in which you can participate to make sure you have what you need to do it:

Fall has arrived and the rainy season is upon us … and Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) needs your help preventing flooding by keeping neighborhood street drains clear of debris.

Fall Clean is a part of SPU’s popular Adopt-A-Drain program, in which volunteers help keep storm drains free of debris. During the coming months, a combination of changing weather and falling leaves creates a perfect opportunity for flooding. Unfortunately, the utilities’ full-time drainage crews cannot keep up with all of the thousands of storm drains that need extra maintenance this time of year.

We’ll lend you free cleanup supplies – rakes, bags, gloves, shovels, brooms and dustpans. Pick them up at the following times and locations:

* October 24 and 31 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Seattle Public Utilities’ warehouse at 3633 East Marginal Way South.

* October 28 and 29 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Seattle Municipal Tower between Columbia Street and Cherry Street on 6th Avenue in downtown Seattle.

Please call or e-mail us in advance at (206) 233-7187 or adoptadrain@seattle.gov to reserve your supplies.

For more on the Adopt-a-Drain program, check out this city webpage.

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West Seattle outage followup: Sewage overflow at Lowman
October 15, 2009 1:29 pm
|      17 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | Utilities | West Seattle news

Update on one effect of last night’s up-to-3-hours West Seattle power outage (WSB as-it-happened coverage here) – a spill at the Lowman Beach pump station, where WSB contributing journalist Christopher Boffoli took that photo last night (the light in the background was from a county truck at the pump station). This news release is just in from King County:

A power failure in West Seattle last night knocked out electricity at King County’s Murray Avenue Pump Station, causing a small sewage overflow near Lowman Beach Park.

County employees responded quickly Wednesday night and installed a portable generator to provide back up power during the outage. Crews stopped the overflow within 30 minutes.

It’s estimated that about 65,000 gallons of wastewater was discharged through the pump station’s emergency outfall into Puget Sound.

County staff took water quality samples and notified health and regulatory agencies about the overflow.

Utility power was back online within two hours and the facility is again operating normally.

We have followup questions out to Seattle City Light regarding the cause of the “underground cable failure” blamed for last night’s outage, which affected almost 2,800 homes and businesses at its peak.

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Update: West Seattle power outage blamed on “cable failure”
October 14, 2009 6:46 pm
|      90 COMMENTS
 |   Utilities | West Seattle news | WS breaking news

(scroll down for latest updates)

(video added 8:31 pm – Fauntleroy/California intersection just before power returned)
FIRST REPORT at 6:46 PM: Power just went out here at WSB HQ in Upper Fauntleroy. Checking to find out the extent of the outage. So far: SW Austin on the north. On the south, we drove 35th and it came back on by the time we got to SW Henderson. Just called City Light, this isn’t on their outage hotline yet – calling the media number next. Via Twitter, we have a couple reports that Alki had a flicker but no outage. Meantime, one person in comments reports having trouble reporting this via the city outage number – we had the same problem.

7:05 PM UPDATE: Still no record of this on City Light’s line. This definitely seems to be a “south West Seattle” situation. Right now, we’re checking the Lincoln Park area – the 76 station and the tennis courts are out but the ferry dock has the power – south of the tennis courts, there’s power. Looks like the lights are on at The Kenney. In comments, Josh says he reached someone at SCL who says this is affecting 3,000 homes/businesses.

7:11 PM UPDATE: From the Seattle City Light media line – 2,756 “customers” (homes/businesses) without power, boundaries described as Findlay, Henderson, 34th, Puget Sound, no cause known yet, “estimated time of restoration” unknown. Co-publisher Patrick is on the road checking key spots in the area – he says the California/Fauntleroy light is out and businesses around that intersection appear to be out as well, at least on the Zeeks Pizza/Starbucks-Subway/Thriftway corners – he’s going into Thriftway shortly to check on the situation there. (update) They’re open for business, with the help of generators – here’s a photo:

Going east on Morgan from the Thriftway, Patrick reports that the outage is spotty – a few spots out, a few spots on. City Light’s online note is here (no info beyond what we have already reported). Again, The Junction and other points north, NOT affected by all accounts – and to the south, one commenter says Endolyne Joe’s (WSB sponsor) and that section of Fauntleroy has power – so if you’re looking to go out to dinner, head in those directions. We’re heading out to check on Westwood Village. From Facebook, Lindsey offers words of warning and advice:

There’s power on raymond and fauntleroy. Stay away from 35th and morgan traffic light !! People’s tempers are getting ugly. People keep driving and not stopping on 35th ouch almost saw a accident

7:43 PM UPDATE: Westwood Village has its power on, no problem. Again, as Lindsey’s note above indicates, driving is a big problem right now, with major lights out of power including California/Fauntleroy, 35th/Morgan, 35th/Thistle. (added 9:22 pm, Christopher Boffoli‘s photo of Calif/Fauntleroy during the outage)

Still no updates so far on how long this will last or what caused it. It’s dark along Fauntleroy from Myrtle to California. Continuing reports of where the power is ON – Delridge and Highland Park report in as OK – so this does not seem to extend much past 35th.

7:53 PM UPDATE: Power just came back on to California/Fauntleroy intersection and surrounding businesses, per co-publisher Patrick. Not back on up here (California/Thistle, mile south) yet. (minutes later) He’s checking south now – the outage starts again at SW Austin and continues to about SW Trenton, again with irregular boundaries in some spots. (Sue via Facebook says she’s at 41st and Holly, where one side of the street is out, the other on!)

8:01 PM UPDATE: WSB contributing journalist Christopher Boffoli has joined the outage-coverage team – he says Zeeks in Morgan Junction will reopen but since they had sent half their staff home, they will NOT be delivering for the rest of the night. He also just verified, Abbondanza in Morgan Junction has reopened. McDonald’s is open but Subway will remain closed for the night. (Added 9:09 pm, Christopher’s photo of Feedback Lounge [WSB sponsor], serving by candlelight before the power returned:)

8:08 PM UPDATE: Our power just returned at California/Thistle. It’s still out at the north Lincoln Park 76 station and nearby tennis courts, plus heading down the hill to Lowman Beach from there.

8:21 PM UPDATE: At Lowman Beach, Christopher reports a crew from King County has brought portable power to make sure the pump station there keeps running. (He took this photo, added at 9 pm:)

Just checked City Light’s media line again, still no new updates on the cause (or when the outage will be fully restored).

8:30 PM UPDATE: In comments, Morgan Community Association president Deb Barker says she has word from her mom at The Kenney that it’s operating on reduced power. Also, a comment from Gatewood says that while the power’s back, Comcast service isn’t fully restored for them (ours up the hill to the south is, fwiw). Meantime, we’re adding a video clip atop this story, from when the power went back on while we were rolling video on the then-dark intersection at California/Fauntleroy (note the flashing traffic lights at the end of the clip).

8:39 PM UPDATE: City Light says “underground cable failure” caused the outage and all should be restored by 9.

9:04 PM UPDATE: Still have scattered reports of powerlessness – DrD in comments says 6900 block of California; Andrea via Facebook says upper Lowman Beach.

9:24 PM UPDATE: Still out at the north Lincoln Park pocket too, as Kari notes in comments; co-publisher Patrick is back out roaming and spotted a City Light crew working on a pole across from the 76 station there.

9:35 PM UPDATE: Now that area is back, and upper Lowman Beach appears to be too, so unofficially it looks like the outage is ALL over – let us know if you are an exception. Meantime, Christopher put together a short clip including Morgan Junction during the outage, Lowman Beach pump truck, and Morgan Junction post-power-back:

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Protecting West Seattle waters: What happens next with CSOs
October 9, 2009 9:30 am
|    Comments Off on Protecting West Seattle waters: What happens next with CSOs
 |   Environment | Utilities | West Seattle news

Last night at The Hall at Fauntleroy, we checked in on the second of two West Seattle open houses regarding the King County Wastewater Treatment decisions-to-be-made about how to handle “combined sewer overflows,” which happen (on average) at least four times a year, a million gallons of stormwater/untreated sewage into Puget Sound each time, from the Murray (Lowman Beach) and Barton (by Fauntleroy dock) spots. Talked with KCWT’s Martha Tuttle for two points of clarification: (1) The CSO plans are separate from the still-in-the-works plans to upgrade the underground pump stations at Murray and Barton. (The latter, she says, is on track for construction in 2011; Murray will be sometime “later” – Tuttle points out there’s already been a fair amount of upgrading at that site.) (2) Look for another round of meetings in late January where KCWT will return with the proposed “alternatives” (from the four general types described in our report on the Wednesday night meeting); then decisions will be made in May. She says that despite King County budget woes, these projects ARE in the budget – the overflows are a situation the county is required by law to fix. (P.S. Next time there’s a storm – check out the real-time CSO info for West Seattle on this county page.)

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Tonight: Junction parking @ SW Council; North Delridge; CSOs
October 7, 2009 6:30 am
|    Comments Off on Tonight: Junction parking @ SW Council; North Delridge; CSOs
 |   Delridge | Junction parking review | Southwest District Council | Utilities | West Seattle news

SOUTHWEST DISTRICT COUNCIL: Tonight’s agenda includes Dante Taylor from SDOT briefing the group on the proposed changes in Junction parking. The map you see above is the official version of the one that was shown in rough draft to the recent Parking Project Committee meeting (WSB coverage here); it’ll be on a mailer going out to area homes/businesses shortly. Also on the agenda for tonight’s meeting: 7 pm, board room at South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor).

NORTH DELRIDGE NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL: 6:30 tonight, Delridge Library.

COMBINED SEWER OVERFLOWS – AND WHAT THAT MEANS TO LOCAL BEACHES: Tonight and tomorrow night, King County Wastewater Treatment Division comes to West Seattle to talk about two projects involving pump stations and “combined sewer overflows” — what happens when the system gets overloaded – which affects Puget Sound and local beaches more than you might realize. Tonight’s meeting looks at the “Murray basin” – related to the underground pump station at Lowman Beach north of Lincoln Park. It’s at 6:30 pm at The Kenney; background information here. Tomorrow night, it’s the “Barton basin,” related to the underground pump station next to the Fauntleroy ferry dock – that meeting’s at 6:30 pm, The Hall at Fauntleroy; background info here.

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Let the sun shine in: Seattle Solar Tour has 6 West Seattle stops
September 28, 2009 12:15 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | Utilities | West Seattle news

If you haven’t already seen it on the WSB Events calendar – we just got a reminder from the city that this is coming up this weekend: The Seattle Solar Tour, with six stops in West Seattle, including trailblazing “hybrid coffee shop” Red Cup Espresso in The Junction. It’s a self-guided free tour, 10 am-4 pm this Saturday (Oct. 3) – all locations, West Seattle and the rest of the city – are listed here.

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New expected completion date for Alki pump station: November
September 1, 2009 7:11 pm
|      17 COMMENTS
 |   Utilities | West Seattle news

You’ll be looking at that scene along Alki for two more months, because the expected completion date for the 53rd Avenue Pump Station expansion project on Alki has moved back a few more weeks. Two recent notes asking us for updates led us to contact King County Wastewater Treatment spokesperson Martha Tuttle, who says they’re now expecting the project to wind up in early November, instead of the October date discussed when we published an update in late spring. She explained:

Although the construction is substantially complete, the new pump station must go through significant testing to be fully functional. … We will not be clearing away the barricades/signs/ materials until the pump station is fully operative, which is around the first of November. Sorry for that news. We know the walkers, joggers and bikers are really tired of our presence.

Work on the pump station began 19 months ago (here’s our first report from February 2008). The county website explains what’s being built – tripling the size of the underground pump station.

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Puget Sound Energy proposes a 17% rate cut
September 1, 2009 10:51 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Utilities | West Seattle news

gas2.jpgJust noticed this, though the official news release came out Monday – Puget Sound Energy, which provides natural-gas service in our area (and regionally), is looking to cut rates 17 percent. Here’s what seattletimes.com (WSB partner) wrote about it.

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Another project update: New Myrtle Reservoir waterproofing
August 28, 2009 11:17 am
|    Comments Off on Another project update: New Myrtle Reservoir waterproofing
 |   Utilities | West Seattle news

A month and a half after our reports (1st article here, followups here and here) on the $4 million problem with leaky waterproofing material atop the new covers at Myrtle and Beacon Hill Reservoirs, its replacement is in place, according to Seattle Public Utilities. We checked in after Chas Redmond sent the photo you see above, showing the hot-asphalt material that is being used instead of the material that turned out to have hundreds of leaks (with a long process ahead to determine the cause, who’s to blame, and who ultimately picks up the bill). SPU’s Elaine Yeung tells WSB, “The application of the new waterproofing system is complete at Myrtle. The next steps will be the acceptance testing. Then beginning the week of September 8th, the contractor plans to start installing the drain rock and soil. Hydro-seeding to establish grass is planned to occur later in September.” The now-underground reservoir has remained in service throughout this process, according to SPU, which also has stressed that the leaks in the original waterproofing material did not pose any health risk. Once the reservoir work is finally complete, the site will be turned over to the Parks Department for development of a new park site (more info on that here; public design meetings wrapped up last year).

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Update: Power outage in White Center/Burien areas
August 27, 2009 3:50 pm
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   Not WS but we're mentioning it anyway | Utilities

For anyone heading southbound from West Seattle: Thanks to Laura for the tip on a power outage in the White Center area. Seattle City Light‘s outage hotline lists two outages – one that could be described as White Center, affecting 4,000 homes/businesses, and another in Burien with about 3,000. The one in Burien is blamed on a fire, according to the hotline, but the other one is listed as “cause unknown.” More to come. 4:08 PM UPDATE: City Light’s latest news release now calls these one outage – here’s the full text:

A fire associated with a power outage in Burien and unincorporated King County has increased the number of customers affected by the outage to about 7,100 homes and businesses.

The fire is burning in a wooded utility right of way south of S 96th Street and west of Des Moines Memorial Drive. Power lines were reported on the ground in the area and at least one utility pole was burning.

Seattle City Light deenergized the power lines to allow firefighters to put out the blaze. City Light crews were dispatched to restore service once the fire was extinguished.

The cause of the outage was not immediately known. City Light expects to restore service to most of the affected customers by 5:30 p.m. by routing power around the damaged area. An estimate for full restoration of service will not be available until crews are able to inspect the damaged equipment.

The general boundaries of the outage are SW Barton Street on the North, SW 167th Street on the South, Glendale Way S on the East and Puget Sound on the West.

If that entire area is out – which is seldom the case with boundaries listed like this – that would include some of West Seattle. We’re off to check the area south of Barton, east of Puget Sound. 6:47 PM UPDATE: City Light says all but 200 of the affected homes/businesses have their power back.

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Followups: Admiral power outage; Weather Watch Park work
August 17, 2009 12:33 pm
|    Comments Off on Followups: Admiral power outage; Weather Watch Park work
 |   Utilities | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

Here’s followup information from the city on two things we’d inquired about: First, yesterday’s power outage in the Admiral area (thanks to Jamie for the photo above and for one of the first reports when it happened): Seattle City Light‘s Scott Thomsen says it was caused when a utility pole’s crossarm broke (that may explain the “loud noise” reported yesterday), and affected almost 200 homes and businesses (including Admiral Safeway and West Seattle PCC). Repairs were complete about three hours after the outage started just before 2. Now, to Beach Drive:

We took that photo a few days ago after receiving a note from a concerned neighbor who saw extensive vegetation removal at Weather Watch Park (map), which he described as “clearcutting,” wondering if it had been authorized and, if so, by whom. First we checked with Seattle Parks, which reminded us that Weather Watch Park is SDOT property since it’s a “street end.” Here’s the information we received from Marybeth Turner at SDOT today:

A contractor hired by SDOT cleared away invasive weeds and dead plants and removed litter. The only tree-related work was the removal of suckers from a sweetgum tree. This maintenance work at the street-end area was done at the request of neighbors. Although this turned out to be legitimate activity,we appreciate the vigilance of residents who report what might be illegal activity. For more information about the street end, residents may call Patti Quirk, SDOT Street Use office, (206) 684-8501.

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Updates: Admiral power outage; Morgan Junction road closure
August 16, 2009 2:33 pm
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   Transportation | Utilities | West Seattle news

Thanks to those who’ve sent notes about a power outage in the Admiral District. One report says it followed a “loud bang” – and Diana says that Admiral Safeway has been without power for about half an hour. Seattle City Light says that the outage is within these boundaries: Admiral to Hanford, 42nd to 50th, but they’re not sure how long it will take to fix. A tipster has just sent the photo you see above, showing crews with what he describes as a downed line, south of Lafayette Elementary. 2:52 PM UPDATE: The tipster says the crews on the scene just told him they’ll need about an hour to splice the line. (Early Monday note – Jamie says their power came back on around 5:30 pm. We’ll be checking with City Light today regarding the official cause and how many homes/businesses were involved.)

Separate incident but also involving City Light: Crews have been working on a utility pole hit in a crash this morning; SW Morgan has been closed a few blocks up the hill east of West Seattle Thriftway as a result. We just went back to check (and to take the photo shown above) and they tell us they should be done, and be able to reopen the road, within an hour or so. (Thanks to Dasi for the original report on this, and Tom for the update that the road was still closed.)

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Reservoir-waterproofing re-do update: Myrtle work this week
August 3, 2009 4:25 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Utilities | West Seattle news

We didn’t see them on the job yet when we took that photo earlier this afternoon, but crews are expected back at Myrtle Reservoir (map) this week to resume pressure-washing to remove the leaky waterproofing “membrane” material (a problem first reported in this in-depth WSB report three weeks ago). A new update from Seattle Public Utilities says this will be done by Wednesday. The update also says the membrane removal is complete at Beacon Hill Reservoir, the other site with the leaky-waterproofing problem, and that the contractor will start “installing the new waterproofing system on the east half of the reservoir”; that work will be followed, according to SPU, by the waterproofing of Myrtle – which is much smaller than Beacon – and then the west half of Beacon. As SPU told us last month, the waterproofing they’ll use is a “hot asphalt” process. Once it’s done, it’ll be tested, then drain pipe and drain rock will be replaced, followed by topsoil and hydroseeding. SPU adds:

During the course of this work, either Myrtle or Beacon Reservoir may be taken out of service. Water service will not be impacted. Until the work is completed, the two reservoirs will remain fenced off.

The work is expected to be completed at the end of November. Myrtle Reservoir and the area over the Beacon Reservoir will be ready to be turned over to the Parks Department at that time. Construction of the Jefferson Park Expansion Project by Parks Department has already begun on the north end of the Beacon site.

As reported here July 24, the waterproofing re-do is expected to cost more than $4 million; the city has said it expects that ratepayers ultimately will not pick up the tab – though it hasn’t yet been determined who’s to blame for the leaks – and also has pointed out that the $150 million reservoir-covering program citywide is overall $15 million under budget. Meantime, the design for the future Myrtle Reservoir park can be seen here.

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3 Monday midday notes: Alki Cafe, Blue Angels, heat-beating tips
July 27, 2009 11:20 am
|    Comments Off on 3 Monday midday notes: Alki Cafe, Blue Angels, heat-beating tips
 |   Blue Angels | Utilities | West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

*From today’s city Land Use Information Bulletin: Alki Cafe‘s new owners have applied for a sidewalk-cafe permit. (The online notice says the city will accept comments till August 10th and explains how to send a comment.)

*Blue Angels update: The news release we quoted in last night’s story said #7 would be here at 9:30 today, but David DeSiga (who took the awesome photo we used in that story) says it actually landed before 9 am. So we should add the caveat, times approximate, which would go for tomorrow’s expected arrival of the other 6.

*Seattle City Light has issued its own set of heat-beating tips – with a focus on electricity, how not to overuse it, and what to do if you lose it. Read on:Read More

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Seattle City Light says it’s stepped up streetlight replacement
July 24, 2009 4:06 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   Utilities | West Seattle news

Last February, we reported on the “burnout backlog” – thousands of Seattle City Light streetlights awaiting repair. In February, there was word of a plan to speed it up by moving up some spending. Now, a progress report – read on:Read More

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WSB Followup: Cost of redoing leaky waterproofing at
Myrtle and Beacon Reservoirs — $4.1 million
July 24, 2009 1:34 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Utilities | West Seattle news

When WSB broke the story July 13 about hundreds of leaks in the waterproofing “membranes” atop the new concrete covers at Myrtle Reservoir in West Seattle and Beacon Hill Reservoir, Seattle Public Utilities told us they had not yet calculated the cost of redoing those membranes. They stressed that they expect the cost eventually will be someone else’s responsibility – depending on where the fault is found to lie – but in the meantime, the city has to front the money to get the work redone. The faulty membranes are being removed now, and a “hot asphalt” process will be used instead. SPU’s Andy Ryan has just sent us the information on the costs, as he had promised they would do as soon as “change orders” were complete:

We now have an estimate on the cost of removing and replacing the waterproof membranes at the Beacon and Myrtle reservoirs — about $4.1 million.

As you reported last week, once liability for the waterproofing problem has been established, Seattle Public Utilities will be seeking recovery of costs from our vendors.

We have not yet established the cause of the breaches in the waterproofing material, nor have we fixed responsibility for the problem. As we told you last week, that determination will likely be part of a lengthy legal discussion between SPU, the project designer and the contractor. To reiterate what we said last week, we do not believe SPU is responsible for any of these problems.

Overall, Seattle’s $150 million reservoir covering program is about $15 million under budget.

Please allow us to emphasize, again, that the water in the reservoirs is safe. We have a comprehensive water quality testing program, regulated by Washington State Department of Health, that confirms that there are no water quality impacts from the waterproofing problem. In fact, at Beacon and Myrtle the water is much better protected, and the water quality even higher, than in Seattle’s old, uncovered reservoirs. The state Department of Health is fully informed of these issues and believes our water is safe.

Construction work on the Beacon and Myrtle Reservoirs is expected to be completed by the end of November. Until the work is completed, the two reservoirs will remain fenced off, as has been the case with our open reservoirs.

Our first priority is getting the waterproofing done right on these projects, which will be serving Seattleites — as reservoirs and parks — for at least the next 100 years.

Our original story on the waterproofing leaks stemmed from neighbors’ e-mails to WSB, asking why the project – which they had thought to be complete – “was being dug up again.” (We also published a followup later in the week.) Earlier this week, we asked SPU why we hadn’t seen activity at the site for several days; Ryan and reservoir project manager Stephanie Murphy explained that the crews are removing the membrane material at Beacon right now and scheduled to resume work at Myrtle in early August.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Recycling-bin ripoff
July 22, 2009 10:51 pm
|      27 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Environment | Utilities | West Seattle news

Bernice wonders if anybody else’s recycling bin has been stolen. A costlier crime than you might imagine – read on:Read More

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Followup: Latest on the Myrtle (and Beacon) reservoir problems
July 17, 2009 10:33 am
|      11 COMMENTS
 |   Utilities | West Seattle news

When we broke the story on Monday night of hundreds of leaks requiring the waterproofing membranes to be dug up, removed and reinstalled at Myrtle Reservoir in West Seattle and Beacon Hill Reservoir, our story was cited and linked to by more than half a dozen citywide media sources, including SeattleTimes.com (almost 4,000 people clicked from there to come see the story here). Now today, three days later, the Times has done its own followup, also appearing in the print edition – which (thank you!) again credits WSB for breaking the story – read the new Times story here. The reporter, Susan Kelleher, is the same one who just last weekend broke the story of SDOT do-overs (including ramps along Fauntleroy Way) – she also was unable, however, as were we, to pin anybody down on specifics of cost/blame re: the reservoir membranes – but SPU has promised some cost information next week, so we’ll bring that to you as soon as it’s available. Meantime, we had asked SPU’s Andy Ryan some other followup questions — read on for the answers:Read More

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Higher electricity rates? Councilmember Harrell’s take
July 16, 2009 3:34 pm
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   Utilities | West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

Once a month, the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce is hosting small brown-bag gatherings that president/CEO Patti Mullen has dubbed “Lunch with LEOs” – local elected officials. We’ve made it to all three, and today, the guest was City Councilmember Bruce Harrell, who heads up the council’s Energy and Technology Committee. The roundtable chat with seven of us representing local businesses/organizations covered a wide range of topics; of most interest – will Seattle City Light rates go up? Harrell stressed that SCL is technically a distinct entity but that he hasn’t seen any “data” regarding alleged money woes, which he says include “leaked” suggestions they might seek a rate increase of 20 percent next year. He says, “There might be a rate increase of some sort, but nothing close to that,” promising to closely scrutinize any such request, and the utility’s operations. He also discussed the city’s just-submitted application to get federal funding to put City Light on a “smart grid” – they’re hoping for up to $100 million of the $200 million he says it would cost to install technology that would enable more efficient management both at the operations level and at the individual customer level. Harrell says it would also assist in outages, potentially rerouting power around a trouble spot. That was good news to Marcia Chittenden, operator of the Chittenden House B&B, who told the story of how her business was without power for a week and a half after the December 2006 windstorm. According to Harrell, the “smart grid” money is being sought from a “stimulus” fund administered by the U.S. Energy Department and a decision on the grant should be in by October. Other projects Harrell says are on the drawing board include pursuing subsidized broadband for some low-income residents. Participating in the gathering as well as covering it, we put in a pitch when it was time to go around the table: Since his committee oversees technology as well as energy, we asked to have Seattle Police crime information available online, in something closer to real time – right now, the primary way reports are distributed to the media involves turning them into PDFs, copying them onto CDs and distributing them to precincts for reporters to peruse.

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Update: Transformer blamed for Delridge outage
July 14, 2009 1:33 pm
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 |   Delridge | Utilities | West Seattle news

(photo courtesy Ken, added 4:46 pm)
Got a note from a West Ridge Apartments (map) resident wondering what we know about why their power’s been out since early this morning. Checked with Scott Thomsen at Seattle City Light, who replies, “Crews are working on repairs. They have not been able to identify a cause yet. They are about to try re-energizing. It might hold or it should give us a more accurate indication of what went wrong.” He says 87 customers (which can mean homes/businesses, but that area’s all residential as far as we know) are affected. 4:47 PM UPDATE: Power’s still out but Thomsen says they’ve traced it to a transformer failure and are estimating the power will be back around 7:30 pm.

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WSB exclusive: Hundreds of waterproofing leaks found at Myrtle, Beacon Reservoirs; “membranes” now being dug up and redone
July 13, 2009 8:18 pm
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 |   Utilities | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

West Seattle Blog has learned that Seattle Public Utilities has ordered waterproofing work dug up and redone at two newly covered city reservoirs — Myrtle Reservoir here in West Seattle (photo) and Beacon Hill Reservoir — because of hundreds of leaks discovered in the “membranes” applied to both projects.

To get to the membranes, the grass, dirt and “drain rock” over the reservoirs must all be removed, which is happening right now. SPU says it has not finished calculating the costs of the additional work but will front the money to the contractor until it is decided – potentially in court – who is to blame for the leaks, which SPU emphasizes do not pose any health risk.

In the case of Myrtle Reservoir, the transfer of part of the site to the Seattle Parks Department, for construction of a park on the newly created open space has been delayed a year already — we reported delays here and here — in June of last year, in fact, the site was seeded, the same month we were told “final acceptance testing” was planned.

Now, though, SPU says that because the waterproofing is being redone, the transfer to Parks may not happen before the end of November.

The waterproofing problems recently came to our attention because of questions from neighbors who live near Myrtle Reservoir. Several e-mailed WSB in the past week to ask why the Myrtle site was being “dug up again.” Today, SPU spokesperson Andy Ryan confirmed the problem to WSB and provided more information on what happened, how it was discovered, what’s being done and what happens next. (We also have spoken with another SPU manager and with the state Health Department.)

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