It’s raining in Seattle. (Surprise!) In fact, it’s pouring. Forecasters are predicting up to 2 inches of rain today, and it won’t be stopping anytime soon. So where does all that water go?
Big storms like these increase the chances of sewage overflowing into Puget Sound, thanks to Seattle’s combined sewer system. According to Seattle Public Utilities, about two-thirds of the city uses combined or partially combined sewer system, meaning that both stormwater from the streets and wastewater from our homes go through the same pipes. On a normal day, the combined water goes to a treatment plant to be cleaned of pollutants and waste. But during heavy rains, the increase in stormwater can cause the combined sewer system to overflow, and the excess water gets dumped into Puget Sound. These combined sewer overflows (CSOs) contain both street runoff (90%) and raw sewage (10%). In 2011, SPU reported 666 million gallons of untreated CSO water from Seattle was released into Puget Sound. That’s a lot of pollution.
To mitigate this problem, the City of Seattle is building large water tanks to hold excess water during storms. After each storm ends, the tanks slowly drain to send water to a treatment facility. At the Murray Pump Station in West Seattle, the design process for a new water tank is already underway. The Murray station normally discharges 5 million gallons of untreated CSO water per year, but with the new 1 million gallon tank that number should decrease dramatically.
At Nature Consortium, we’re really excited for the new tank to be built. It’s one more step towards cleaning up our beloved Northwest environment. But construction can be an eyesore in a residential community like West Seattle. To help prepare the community for the three years of construction ahead, we worked with Seattle Public Utilities and local neighbors to create a 16-panel mural to surround the construction site.
After a great community mural painting party back in July, the new mural is up and adds a burst of color to the otherwise drab construction site. It’s just one way that Nature Consortium and the City of Seattle combine art with environmental action.
Learn More
– Murray CSO control project
– City of Seattle sewage overflow prevention
– How you can help (via Seattle Times)
– CSO control program 2011 report
– Take Winter By Storm weather preparedness
– Adopt a storm drain
