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February 10, 2025

National finalist: Golden Prize
Energy

The 16.8-megawatt battery provides continuous operation of the pump during power interruptions.

Brown and Caldwell

Improvements of West Point Power Quality

King County

The King County Waste Department serves nearly 2 million people per 424 square miles near the Puget Sound, ensuring efficient wastewater treatment while protecting water quality. Working with three regional wastewater treatment plants, including the West Point (WPTP) treatment plant in Seattle, the division plays a critical role in maintaining public health.

The plant, the largest in the region, processes an average of 95 million gallons of wastewater per day and uses secondary processing of oxygen clean before discarded in the sound of Puget.

In 2021, King Down County County Constantine signed an emergency declaration to improve the resistance of the plant to the interruptions of electricity caused by the hard weather. The voltage of sagging or temporary power losses causes the large pumping engines to exclude. The time required to safely restart the pumps can lead to the disposal of wastewater in the sound of the pouge during periods of heavy flow. With the increasing incidence of such disturbances due to climate change, the improvement of the West Point electricity resistance has become essential to prevent wastewater from releaseing and water quality protection.

To deal with wastewater versions, King County partners with Brown and Caldwell, Hoffman Construction Company and other partners to design and install a 16.8-mega-megawatt battery integrating 48,000 batteries into the facility’s electrical system. This system ensures continuous operation of the pump during power supply interruptions. The project, the largest application of continuous power supply to the US wastewater treatment plant, has been completed in just 3.5 years, a significant achievement compared to the typical time line of seven to 10 years for such large-scale projects for a public agency.

In November 2024, WPTP successfully passed its first major test, maintaining a stable power through seven voltages of sagging during a heavy meteorological event. The battery system will continue to protect the quality of water, preventing the discharge of wastewater in the Puget Sound for years to come.

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