What’s the Clean Water Plan?
It’s time to make a plan.
King County is undertaking this large planning effort because it is facing critical—and expensive—decisions that will affect the region’s water quality.
We are facing new challenges, including a changing climate, aging pipes and wastewater treatment facilities, and a rising cost of living, and it’s time to make a plan for the future.
King County protects water quality by cleaning the water that people use. We have hundreds of miles of pipes, pumps, tanks, treatment plants, and other equipment to collect, carry and treat wastewater. We recycle what we can and send it back to nature. King County and other local governments help manage stormwater facilities that protect water bodies from pollutants that run off streets, parking lots and other paved surfaces.
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What will the plan do?
The Clean Water Plan will guide decisions about our wastewater system and how to protect our local waterways and health in the future. The plan will also look at how we are managing water that runs off streets, parking lots, driveways, lawns and sidewalks when it rains. King County is preparing the plan so that we make the right investments at the right time.
The goal of the plan is to identify policies, programs, and projects that reflect community priorities and guide us toward the best water quality outcomes for the region. When complete, the plan will provide a path for water quality investments in the near-term as well as long-term over the next 40 years.
What makes this plan and your input so important?
- Our future investments are a major chance to benefit the economic, social and ecological health of the region.
- We may find overlap between water quality investments and other issues that need attention—so we can meet multiple needs.
- Solving all the regional water quality problems will take time and collaboration.