Council Vice Chair Dunn wants answers following 11 million gallon wastewater spill

Following the massive wastewater spill on January 13, King County Council Vice Chair Reagan Dunn is asking to take a closer look into what went wrong.

The rainstorm on January 13th caused flooding and power outages throughout the Puget Sound area, leading to a power failure at King County’s West Point Treatment Plant. The mass amount of rain and power outage caused the plant to spill 11 million gallons of untreated wastewater into Puget Sound.

This wastewater was filled with sewage, toxins, stormwater runoff, and other contaminants. King County estimated the wastewater was 80% stormwater and 20% sewage.

Now, after beach closures and contact warnings have ended, councilmember Dunn has introduced legislation to investigate the system failure at the treatment plant that led to the major spill and contamination of the Puget Sound and Lake Washington.

Dunn is also asking to offer a set of recommendations to prevent future wastewater spills and incidents in King County. The purpose of these recommendations will be to protect and restore the County’s natural resources.

For more information on Dunn’s legislation and call for answers, please visit here.

Photo: West Point Treatment Plant | King County