Tag Archives: drainage

Public Health, Sewers/Drainage

Rats!

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Seen rats in the neighborhood recently? I’ve seen them scurrying about various places (along Holman Road, and fences). And we’re not alone.  Seattle now has a video about the problem and what we can do about it. And according to the video, it is not an urban legend that rats can come up through your toilet.

The press release from the city can be seen here.  If you cannot view the video above, it is also available here.

So, here is what to do if you spot a rat in your toilet:

  1. Stay calm, and shut the lid.
  2. Reach for a bottle of dish detergent.
  3. Squirt dish detergent into the toilet bowl. This will make it harder for the rat to float and swim by neutralizing the oils in the rat’s fur.
  4. Flush repeatedly until the rat is gone.
  5. Report the incident: 206-205-4394 or online here.
  6. More information is available here: http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/ehs/rats/sewerbaiting.aspx

Additional information about rats in the city from King County:

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Announcements, Sewers/Drainage

Crown Hill – North Beach CSO

OK, what is all this talk about CSO’s? And what is a CSO? And why should I care? Beware that various areas in Crown Hill drain to different treatment plants. Areas south of 85th drain southward rather than to the North Beach and Carkeek treatment plants. If you are reside in the area outlined on the map below, this information affects you. If you reside outside, you may be affected by a different drainage area, and the information may also be of interest. At the end of the article are some more resources you may want to consult. Read on for some easy to understand information extracted from a recent letter from King County, and there is a meeting on March 30 at Loyal Heights Community Center, 6:30-8 PM:

What is a CSO?

Combined sewer overflow

Why are CSOs a problem at North Beach?

Like many cities around the country , the older parts of King County’s wastewater system carry both wastewater and stormwater to the treatment plant. When heavy rains fill the pipes, excess stormwater and sewage flow directly into Puget Sound near North Beach. These events, called combined sewer overflows, or CSOs, help to avoid sewer backups into homes and businesses and onto streets during storms, but they are a public health and environmental concern. When a CSO happens, about 90 percent of the overflow is stormwater and the rest is dilute sewage.

In 2008, King County reported that the North Beach CSO facility has 10 overflows per year on average that discharge a total of 2.2 million gallons into Puget Sound off North Beach. King County’s goal is to reduce the number of CSOs each year, with a long-term goal of no more than one untreated discharge per location per year on a long-term average to meet state regulations.

North Beach Crown Hill CSO Project Area
North Beach Crown Hill CSO Project Area

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Announcements, Volunteers

Combined Sewer Overflows Sounding Board

A volunteer opportunity (received from Ray Hoffman at Seattle Public Utilities):

Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) is seeking community members who would like to serve on a Sounding Board to help guide the development of a long-term plan (LTCP) to control Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) in the City of Seattle.  The Clean Water Act requires that Seattle reduce CSOs. Seattle Public Utilities is developing a comprehensive Long-term Control Plan (LTCP) to lay out the capital investments necessary to meet that goal. These actions will include retrofitting the system for greater efficiency, building storage facilities, and green stormwater infrastructure where appropriate. The Sounding Board will provide a diverse set of perspectives from across the City. We seek individuals who can see the big picture, as well as effectively represent a particular point of view and provide constructive advice about important investment decisions. We hope to identify people from each quadrant of the city (northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest) to represent interests in those geographic areas.

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