“This final decision on Brightwater is the culmination of a multi-year, multi-step process that will bring our region’s infrastructure into the 21st century,” said Phillips. “The Executive’s reaffirmation of this project benefits not only the north King County and south Snohomish County communities that will be served by Brightwater, but also the communities surrounding existing wastewater treatment facilities. As soon as Route 9 was identified as the preferred site, it underwent an extensive environmental review and extended public comment period. The result of that process is that this location is still the best site for this vital facility.”

Route 9 was identified as the preferred site for Brightwater in December 2003. The facility will be the most modern wastewater treatment plant in the nation, with state-of-the-art systems for wastewater treatment, odor control, reclaimed water, and quality of effluent discharged into Puget Sound. Brightwater is designed to serve sewer customers in north King and south Snohomish counties for at least the next 50 years. The selection of the Woodinville site also included a 16-mile alignment on Northeast 195th Street and the Snohomish-King County line for pipes and pump stations that connect will Brightwater to a nearly 1-mile-long marine outfall at Point Wells west of Shoreline.

Since its selection, Route 9 and the conveyance route have been the subject of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) as well as an extensive public process that included over 5,000 comments from individuals, tribes and government agencies. In a report sent by the Executive to the Council earlier this month, the Executive said there were no overriding environmental or public concerns that would make it necessary to select a new location for the facility.