Sims, other local leaders to commemorate 40 years of cleaner water, look forward to Puget Sound

Oct. 5 , 2005

Media advisory:

Sims, other local leaders to commemorate 40 years of cleaner water, look forward to Puget Sound

King County Executive Ron Sims and other local leaders in wastewater treatment will commemorate 40 years of cleaner water during a special event and photo opportunity at the South Treatment Plant in Renton:

Thursday, Oct. 6
1:30-2:30 p.m.
South Treatment Plant
1200 Monster Road S.W., Renton

Sims will link the legacy and necessity of wastewater treatment during the past, present and future. He will discuss the need to restore Puget Sound in coming years with the same regional cooperation that cleaned up and still protects Lake Washington and other local waters.

Other speakers will include Tom Gibbs, executive director in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s of the regional wastewater treatment agency once known as Metro, and Gary Zimmerman, chair of the former Metro governing board, the Metro Council, from 1980-90. Also speaking will be Terri Briere, president of the Renton City Council, representing the host city for the 40-year-old South Treatment Plant. Renton is one of 34 cities and local sewer utilities that contract with King County to provide wastewater treatment.

At the end of the event, King County will invite local leaders and representatives to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the South Treatment Plant by becoming part of a commemorative photograph. When Metro celebrated its 10th anniversary, the agency similarly commemorated the event with a photo of its leadership.

Residents of King County voted in 1958 to create an independent wastewater treatment agency called the Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle, or Metro. The South Treatment Plant began operating in 1965. In 1993, voters approved the merger of Metro's wastewater and water quality functions (and its public transit function) with King County.

King County has also scheduled a public open house at the South Treatment Plant from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8. The plant is near Southwest Grady Way and Interstate 405. Directions to the plant are available.

More information about King County’s Wastewater Treatment Division, the South Treatment Plant and the open house is available online.