Drainage Projects
Projects include: Madison Valley, Meadowbrook Pond, Thornton Creek Water Quality Channel, Midvale Stormwater, and many more. Drainage and Creek Projects
LOWER TAYLOR CREEK RESTORATION PROJECT
Located near the south end of Lake Washington in southeast Seattle, Lower Taylor Creek flows through areas with poor habitat. The restoration project will help improve the stream channel and surrounding habitat, aid fish passage upstream, and reduce local flooding. Taylor Creek
BICYCLE SAFETY
Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) is working closely with the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) to replace older storm drain covers in an effort to improve roadway conditions for bicycling throughout the City. Bicycle Safety
BROADVIEW PROJECTS
Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) is working in areas of the Broadview neighborhood to make improvements in the functioning of the sewer and drainage systems, as well as to improve water quality. SPU currently has three projects in the Broadview area focused on these issues, including two pilot projects to test some methods for meeting some of our goals for the neighborhood. Broadview Projects
MEADOWBROOK POND & THORNTON CREEK
The Meadowbrook Pond and Thornton Creek Confluence project will help restore water quality, improve fish and wildlife habitat, reduce local flooding, and prepare for other flood reduction projects in the future. The creek is the largest watershed in Seattle, draining a 12-square-mile region of relatively dense biodiversity for an urban setting and home to over 200,000 people. Meadowbrook Pond & Thornton Creek
GREEN STORMWATER
Guidance for transformations of Seattle’s urban landscape, creating green elements that welcome the rain – storing, draining, and cleaning it. Learn how stormwater flow and water quality code requirements can be achieved by using Green Stormwater Infrastructure. Green Stormwater
KNICKERBOCKER FLOODPLAIN
The Knickerbocker floodplain site is a section of the South Branch of Thornton Creek in Northeast Seattle. This project will relocate several hundred feet of the creek and create a 1.5 acre vegetated floodplain. This increased storage capacity will provide benefits to downstream stream-side properties and improve the habitat for biological communities within the creek. A new pedestrian bridge over the creek will also be built. Knickerbocker Floodplain
MADISON VALLEY PROJECT
The Madison Valley area has experienced substantial surface flooding and sewer backup events. After the August 2004 storm, which resulted in significant flooding in the valley, Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) began an in-depth process to develop and evaluate many options to reduce the potential for flooding in the valley. Find information about project background, updates, parking impacts and more. Madison Valley Project
MAPES CREEK
The Lower Mapes Creek Restoration Project moves the creek from a storm drain into a parallel, dedicated pipe and then restores approximately 350 feet of the creek into an open, natural channel through Beer Sheva Park to Lake Washington. This project represents an opportunity to restore stream mouth habitat in an area heavily used by juvenile Chinook salmon. Mapes Creek
MIDVALE STORMWATER PROJECT
Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) will construct a stormwater holding area on a 1.8-acre commercial site in north Seattle that has a history of flooding during heavy rain storms. The project will greatly reduce the potential for localized flooding, and will provide water quality treatment to reduce the amount of pollutants entering Lake Union. Midvale Stormwater Project
SEWAGE OVERFLOW PREVENTION
The City of Seattle has negotiated a first-of-its-kind proposed agreement that will prevent sewage overflows by allowing the city to use the most cost-effective and environmentally-beneficial projects to control and treat both stormwater and sewage. View the Long-term Control Plan that will guide the development of projects to be constructed over the next 15 years. Sewage Overflow Prevention
STREET SWEEP
The Street Sweep Pilot Project ended June 31, 2007. Seattle Street Sweep was a pilot project to evaluate best practices and new technology to improve the health of Seattle’s waters. Street Sweep
SWALE ON YALE
SPU is working with Cascade neighborhood businesses and property owners to construct a stormwater treatment system on four blocks of Yale Avenue North and Pontius Avenue North. This project will consist of four biofiltration swales, a pre-treatment swirl concentrator and a diversion structure. Swale on Yale
THORNTON CREEK
The Thornton Creek Water Quality Channel provides multiple environmental benefits in a highly urbanized environment. The Thornton Creek Water Quality Channel project uses natural drainage system technology – drainage that mimics the way nature works - to clean the water, slow it down and let water flow through the channel year-round. The design includes native landscaping and pedestrian pathways that provide access throughout the site. Thornton Creek
SOUTH PARK PROJECTS
These sewer and drainage improvements will protect public health and safety by preventing sewer backups into people’s homes and businesses, as well as preventing street flooding. They will also help to protect the Duwamish Waterway from polluted stormwater runoff. Construction is expected in 2014. Funding is provided by drainage and wastewater rates. South Park Projects
NE 93rd STREET CULVERT REPAIR PROJECT
Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) will repair the culvert that carries Thornton Creek under NE 93rd Street to reduce the risk of sudden road failure during heavy rains. The culvert is at risk of failing, which would isolate several homes from access to Sand Point Way NE. NE 93rd Street Culvert Repair Project