Georgetown Wet Weather Treatment Station

In 2013, King County retained our Jacobs-led team to deliver the Georgetown WWTS project, which is a satellite treatment facility that will operate an average of approximately 20 times per year, processing about 70 million gallons of wastewater annually. The project integrates site selection, treatment process evaluations, environmental and cultural impacts, discharge regulatory requirements, financial analysis and description of the recommended system proposal to meet state and federal wastewater facility, and combined sewer overflow plan requirements.

While siting and planning the project, we used 3D models and a Virtual Reality (VR) environment to optimize layouts for function and space planning, ensuring the design approach would integrate naturally within the industrial neighborhood, while still reflecting the local history and culture. The facility itself provides community benefits, such as educational opportunities, meeting and training rooms; and supports the economy with jobs through a local hire requirement. The team optimized the Georgetown WWTS layout by integrating several facilities and providing multi-purpose function wherever possible.

Visible sustainable design elements throughout the facility that demonstrate the project team's commitment to conservation, include:

• A green roof and 50,000-gallon cisterns to capture stormwater for on-site irrigation.
• Pervious paving to slow the flow of stormwater across the site.
• Native and adapted plantings to improve air quality and stormwater management.
• Wood and other recycled materials used to divert more than 85 percent of demolition materials from the landfill.
• A solar-ready zone capable of producing up to 100 kW to increase renewable energy generation and consumption.
• Translucent wind wall and skylights to reduce electrical demands and produce energy fed directly to the electrical grid.

The Georgetown WWTS project reduces contamination and improve aquatic habitat and overall water quality of the Duwamish River. Completed on time and on budget, the station processes up to 70 million gallons of combined stormwater runoff and wastewater per day, water that would otherwise have discharged directly into the river without treatment during storm events. The project controls two existing combined sewer overflows into the Lower Duwamish River.

Jacobs has a longstanding partnership with King County Wastewater Treatment Division, including serving as prime consultant for the Brightwater Treatment Plant, which at the time it was built in 2011, was the largest membrane bioreactor in North America.