As King County hosts a four-day national conference of clean water agencies, Executive Dow Constantine showed progress toward making the region’s wastewater treatment system more resilient to climate impacts.

After expert analysis identified power interruptions occurring during high rain events as a primary driver of overflows at West Point Treatment Plant, Executive Constantine signed an emergency declaration in 2021 – along with his supplemental budget request that the King County Council approved – to make the electric power supply to the 56-year-old plant more reliable during severe wind and rainstorms. 

The emergency declaration fast-tracked the procurement process for a major capital project that will install on-site batteries, which King County’s Wastewater Treatment Division will now prepare to install. The new batteries will provide one of the largest treatment plants on the West Coast with an uninterruptable power supply when voltage sags occur. This will be especially valuable during heavy rainstorms, which are occurring more frequently as a result of climate change.