West Point Treatment Plant

[2] Communities surrounding Seattle at that time also dumped wastewater directly into Lake Washington, severely contaminating it as well.

At the time, the $140 million campaign was considered the most costly pollution control effort in the country, but proved to be a major success in the restoration of Lake Washington, all prior to the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970.

[5][6] Secondary treatment was added to the plant in 1996 to meet federal Clean Water Act requirements.

Upgrades are underway to strengthen this system against greater storms due to climate change.

[14] At about 2:12 AM, a momentary power fluctuation from Seattle City Light caused effluent pumps to trip and turn off; this event, along with failures of other safeguards, led to a major flooding event within the plant and a massive discharge of wastewater directly into the Puget Sound.

A major construction endeavor followed to enhance the reliability of the plant, with a Power Quality Improvement project being implemented in about 3.5 years.

[19] Constructed by Hoffman Construction Company, the battery-based Power Quality system was noted as the first project of its kind in the United States to enhance power stability to critical pump systems at this scale within a wastwater treatment plant, enabling West Point to “ride out” temporary power disruptions and reduce emergency bypasses of untreated wastewater to Puget Sound during severe storms.