South Treatment Plant earns recognition for long-term permit compliance.
King County’s South Treatment Plant in Renton earned the Platinum Peak Performance Award from the National Association of Clean Water Agencies for outstanding compliance with its state and federal permit requirements.
The award honors South Plant’s 19 consecutive years of meeting or surpassing its effluent discharge limits established by National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit under the federal Clean Water Act and the state’s Water Pollution Control Law.
The permit conditions also require the plant to conduct regular sampling and testing of both its untreated and treated wastewater.
South Plant also earned the Department of Ecology’s “Outstanding Performance Award” for perfect compliance with all permit conditions in 2014.
The plant treats an average of 90 million gallons of wastewater each day, with a capacity to treat up to 300 million gallons during severe storms.
The plant site also hosts the award-winning Waterworks Gardens Park, where art, technology and nature join in a unique way.
The park’s extensive network of wetlands acts as a natural treatment system to clean stormwater runoff from the plant site.
Waterworks Gardens is open to the public year-round from dawn to dusk.
Additional information about the South Treatment Plant is available online.