“Puget Sound should be as clean, productive and protected in reality as it appears to tourists visiting us on cruise ships,” said Councilmember Larry Phillips, chair of the Council’s Growth Management and Natural Resources Committee. “We already have done much to protect Puget Sound through King County’s exemplary wastewater treatment system; now we must assist cruise ships to improve how their waste is treated and discharged. By evaluating visiting cruise ships’ potential use of King County’s wastewater treatment system, we’re looking at a better future for our marine ecosystem, tourism, and the people of this region.”

Cruise ships are regular visitors to the region during the summer, with over 200 vessels from five major cruise lines making a port of call in Seattle. The Port of Seattle estimates that 150 cruises leave for Alaska from Seattle from May to September, with each ship generating tens of thousands of gallons of wastewater during the seven-day trip. Cruise lines have limited options on how to handle sewage; many comply with federal law by dumping a portion into the ocean 12 miles offshore. Along with contaminating the water supply, sewage waste—if not properly disposed of—can create low oxygen problems in the water which can cause fish kills. Puget Sound advocates are encouraging a heightened level of awareness regarding waste discharges, especially in light of the federal listing of the Chinook salmon as a threatened species and the resident killer whale population as an endangered species.

Many of the cruise ships that come into the area are now fitted with onboard wastewater treatment systems. In 2004, the Port, Washington state and the cruise lines signed a Memorandum of Understating (MOU) in which operators agreed to treat their wastewater prior to releasing it into Puget Sound, though enforcement provisions are limited.

The motion approved today by the Council directs the Wastewater Treatment Division of the Department of Natural Resources and Parks to review the potential for processing cruise ship waste through the county’s wastewater processing system. Portions of the wastewater treated through the county’s wastewater treatment system could then be used as fertilizer applied in appropriate locations within the region. The review will consider environmental impacts; wastewater system capacity; costs, economic impacts, and other considerations.

“We have treatment capacity that is underutilized during the summer, since it is designed to treat stormwater runoff produced by winter rains,” said Phillips. “Why not investigate using that capacity in a way that will benefit the cruise lines, regional green spaces, and most importantly, the endangered ecosystem of Puget Sound?”