| June 4, 2003
News Release Engineers for the proposed Brightwater wastewater system are working to cut in half the number of construction portals needed to dig deep tunnels to and from the preferred plant site. The regional wastewater treatment utility operated by King County has identified five primary portal locations along the preferred pipeline route for a Brightwater plant next to State Route 9 in east Snohomish County. Besides identifying primary portals for the preferred route, the utility is identifying primary portals for the two other pipeline alternatives evaluated in the draft environmental impact statement. Primary portals are the minimum number of portals King County would have to build. "As we've continued to assess soil and groundwater conditions along the routes, we've refined the routes and narrowed the number of portals we need," said Christie True, conveyance program manager. The primary portal locations for the preferred alternative are in Bothell, Kenmore (two locations), Shoreline and Point Wells (Snohomish County). Population projections show that rapid growth in the Brightwater service area requires completion of the plant by 2010. King County's wastewater treatment utility has been protecting public health and water quality in the Brightwater service area for nearly 40 years. More than 60 percent of the wastewater treated at Brightwater will come from Snohomish County. "We are now evaluating specific properties within the primary portal areas using comprehensive environmental, community and engineering criteria," True. "We haven't selected final properties yet. But we are visiting potential properties to determine feasibility." Stressing that King County must be flexible in selecting final properties, True said, "We will work closely with property owners and affected jurisdictions as we further refine the conveyance project and select the final portal and property locations." Almost the entire wastewater pipeline system will be built underground using high-technology boring equipment, but the portals are needed for access to the tunnels. Within each of the 72-acre portal siting areas finally selected, only two to four acres will be needed during construction. "We do not believe we will need all the portals we identified earlier in the design process," True said. "Our engineers and geotechnical consultants are working to limit construction impacts and control costs. We are striving to reduce the number of properties we must acquire and minimize the number of people directly affected by tunnel and portal construction." True explained that to stay on schedule for a 2010 completion date, King County must begin to identify specific properties as construction areas for primary portals by this fall. King County will complete property selection in early 2004 after release of the final environmental impact statement. King County's Wastewater Treatment Division protects public health and water quality by serving 18 cities, 15 sewer districts and more than 1.4 million residents in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties.
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