Published May 2001

Treatment plant
would be a benefit

Only a few years ago, it would have been difficult to make the following statement: I wholeheartedly endorse a Snohomish County site being chosen for King County’s north sewage treatment plant.

I realize the mere mention of “sewage treatment plant” conjures up the image of an unsavory, unsightly and odoriferous community eyesore. Local planners used to call such facilities LULUs — “locally unwanted land uses.” Community activists cried NIMBY — “not in my back yard.”

Not anymore.

Building the North Treatment Facility at any one of six proposed Snohomish County sites makes perfect sense from an economic and lifestyle advancement viewpoint.

It’s not every day that our county is asked to be home to what probably will end up being a $1 billion construction project responsible for creating several hundred high-skilled, technical jobs compensated at family-wage levels.

This plant will be more than just a sprawling, physical entity. It will be surrounded by a bucolic buffer of open space, trails, gardens and perhaps even community centers, art galleries and environmental-education centers.

I realize that my support of this project could raise several important and worrisome questions. I want to provide some answers.

Q. Why should Snohomish County be the site for a King County treatment plant? Shouldn’t King County find a site within its borders?

A. King County no longer possesses the appropriate space needed to build both the plant and the surrounding amenities, and about 70 percent of the plant’s 36 million-gallon treatment capacity will come from south Snohomish County.

Q. Is the potential gain worth the risk of environmental damage that could result from unexpected overflows or accidents?

A. Today’s modern sewage treatment plants are well-engineered, high-tech and efficient facilities. A great example of such a facility is the sewage treatment plant in downtown Edmonds that some visitors occasionally mistake for City Hall.

Q. How can a sewage treatment plant be regarded as an economic development coup de grace?

A. Because it fits with the new vision embraced by our business community and government leaders. It would mean a substantial investment, not only in the plant and surrounding amenities, but also in developing the needed infrastructure to comfortably support meaningful and environmentally benign economic growth here.

Deborah Knutson is President of the Snohomish County Economic Development Council. She can be reached at 425-743-4567 or by e-mail to dknutson@snoedc.org.

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