Broadview Sewer and Drainage Improvement Project Update

Seattle Public Utilities project manager Celia Kennedy this week sent a message about current and planned activity on the Broadview Sewer and Drainage Improvement Project.  Below is her message.

Dear Broadview Residents, 

The purpose of this letter is to update you on the status of Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) sewer and drainage system improvement project in your neighborhood. It has been awhile since we last met and we would like to update you on our progress.

In the first half of July, contractors for SPU installed a number of groundwater monitoring wells in the 12th Avenue NW basin area (in the western third portion of the Broadview neighborhood). This work is vital for the team to develop a better understanding of groundwater flows within the watershed as we examine solutions to improve the sewer and drainage systems in the 12th Avenue NW basin.

Through the preliminary engineering work we have been conducting (data analysis, field studies, sewer and drainage flow monitoring and computer modeling) and early cost estimating, we have found that the needs for sewer and drainage improvements in the Broadview neighborhood are much larger and more expensive than we originally anticipated. This information has led us to expand the range of possible solutions beyond those in the local area and to consider regional solutions, which could include making improvements in other areas to create sewer capacity downstream of the Broadview sewer system.

We are now analyzing the most viable alternative solutions – local (within the basin) and regional – for the 12th Avenue NW basin sewer. We will evaluate those options using a set of screening criteria, including: cost, time to implement, impacts to residents during construction, etc. The top three to five alternatives from the screening process will be evaluated in a detailed alternative analysis document. We will ask for public input during this alternatives analysis, and will host public meetings to gather comments. We will send out postcards with meeting dates and locations in advance of those meetings. Once the alternative analysis is complete and we select a preferred alternative, that alternative will proceed into design and construction.

We recognize that the alternatives analysis process is taking longer than originally anticipated, and that is due to the complexity of the challenges in Broadview and the size of the potential solutions. Thank you for your patience, and look for more details on the schedule in the future. Also, if you want to see what we have accomplished to date, please go to our project website at: www.seattle.gov/util/BroadviewProjects.

Thank you,

Celia Kennedy

Broadview Sewer and Drainage Improvement Project

SPU_BroadviewProjects@seattle.gov

206-409-3651