Brightwater Recycled Water New Water, New Solutions for the

Sammamish River

Jacque Klug, Recycled Water Project Manager King County Department of Natural Resources & Parks Wastewater Treatment Division

Recycled Water is: One of the recycled products created at King County’s

wastewater treatment plants.

Highly treated, disinfected, continuously monitored and

tested.

Crystal clear and odor free

As clean (or cleaner) than river water sometimes used for

irrigation.

Used all over the US and the world.

Why Recycle Water? • Reduce reliance on Puget Sound for discharge • Keeps more water in streams and aquifers • Recycle nutrients and reduce fertilizer use • Supports conservation values of our

community

King County Recycled Water Facilities

Brightwater Treatment Plant produces high quality recycled water.

• Water Production: permitted for 21 MGD;

currently distribute 7-9 MGD to Sammamish

Valley

• Uses: irrigation, industrial process,

toilet/urinal flushing Membrane Filters at Brightwater produce Class A reclaimed water used at Brightwater and the Sammamish Valley.

Recycled Water is Safe!

• King County has been recycling water safely for 20 years

• We clean the “bad stuff” and recycle the “good stuff”

• Recycled water has almost zero total coliform but has nutrients plants need to thrive

What about medicines and personal care products?

Why recycled water at Brightwater? • Requirement of outfall lease

• Cost-effective infrastructure

• Large irrigation demand in the Sammamish Valley for farms, parks and golf courses.

• Opportunity to get water back in stream to improve habitat.

Sammamish Valley Recycled Water Distribution System

Sammamish Valley Irrigators & Water Rights Source: Department of Ecology

Sammamish River Valley

People,

Farms,

and fish.

Sammamish River Challenges

• Channelization and dredging

• Loss of riparian habitat & species

• Water withdrawals & low stream

flows

• High water temperatures & low

dissolved oxygen

• Non-point pollution (bacteria,

nutrients)

Sammamish River Restoration and Recycled Water

Switching Sammamish basin ground and surface water uses with recycled water is recommended in these plans: • Lake Washington/Cedar/Sammamish

Chinook Salmon Conservation Plan (2005)

• Sammamish River Corridor Action Plan

(2002) • Bear-Evans Temperature, Dissolved

Oxygen and Fecal Coliform Bacteria Water Quality Implementation Plan (2011)

New water solutions for the Sammamish River

King County saves 419 million gallons per year of water by using recycled water

at Brightwater Facility.

Irrigation

Toilet and Urinal Flushing

Process Water

Willows Run Golf Course keeps about 40 million gallons of water in the Sammamish basin each summer by using recycled water.

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Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec

cfs

Sammamish River Flow 2015 Compared to Average

Avg Samm. River Flow, 1969-2015 Sammamish River Flow, 2015

Washington 2015 Drought

Sammamish River flowed at record low levels for most of summer 2015.

Sixty Acres Park saves critically need water for Sammamish River salmon by

switching to recycled water in 2015.

Sixty Acres Park, the largest

soccer complex west of the

Mississippi River, replaces

river water with recycled

water for irrigation in August

of 2015.

Kirkland and King County save municipal water in 2015.

• Tree irrigation • Street sweeping • Sewer flushing • Saw-cutting • Concrete mixing

To meet regional water conservation goals, Kirkland and King County mobilized a truck haul fill station at King County’s York Pump Station for Kirkland municipal uses:

Brightwater Recycled Water: Future Benefits

- Keep water in the Sammamish River: by switching irrigators to recycled water, we could keep about 7 cfs in the river.

- Expand Local Agriculture: recycled water can provide water for farms with no or limited access to water.

- Supplement regional water supplies: recycled water can stretch municipal water supplies and support regional water resiliency efforts to drought and climate change.

Pathway for Partnerships

• We coordinate closely with the Department of Ecology, Muckleshoot Tribe and Washington Water Trust to support water resource management goals for the Sammamish River.

• Laying the framework for using

the state’s Trust Water Program to protect stream flows.

• Support water resource goals

related to regional salmon recovery.

For more information:

Email: recycled.water@kingcounty.gov

Phone: 206-477-4474

Web: kingcounty.gov/recycledwater