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Jun
30

Public engagement

Discover how King County is engaging the community in the West Duwamish Wet Weather Storage project.

Our commitment to our local communities

Throughout this project, our team seeks opportunities to engage our project neighbors and support local community-driven initiatives. As design has progressed, we have connected directly with project neighbors, attended community events, shared briefings with community groups, mailed newsletters and postcards, updated our project website, and published online open houses.

Infographic displaying outreach efforts

Visit our recent online open houses to learn more about our recent community engagement efforts:

How we work with the community

King County works with communities to provide project information, identify potential impacts, and involve the community in project design where possible. Community members can expect:

  • One-on-one outreach to directly impacted neighbors
  • Neighborhood meetings
  • Community group briefings
  • Project newsletters and fliers
  • Project web page updates
  • News releases

Community partnerships

Partnership with Mujeres Conectoras

Between October 2022 and August 2023, King County partnered with Mujeres Conectoras to engage Latinx community members in the project area in two focus group discussions. Mujeres Conectoras also participated in trainings and attended a tour of the King County South Treatment Plant.

In the focus group discussions, Mujeres Conectoras connected with 25 Latinx community members and their families. The groups discussed the project and other clean water infrastructure topics. Most of the focus group discussion participants learned about the project for the first time in these conversations and several community members expressed feeling inspired to support water quality activities with their families.

“Trick or Tree”

In October 2022 and October 2023, King County hosted tree giveaway events in partnership with DIRT Corps and the Duwamish Valley Youth Corps. Between these two events, king County has shared 550 native trees with South Park and Highland Park community members and places of worship.

Supporting workforce development initiatives

In partnership with Villa Comunitaria, a local organization supporting project engagement with Latinx community members, King County is working to advance workforce development opportunities in project area neighborhoods. Leading up to the start of construction, King County will raise awareness and increase participation among project neighbors in clean water workforce opportunities, including King County’s Business Development and Contract Compliance and Priority Hire Programs.

King County is also collaborating with South Seattle Community College - Georgetown Campus to plan workforce development activities for people in all stages of careers and education. So far in 2024, the project team has hosted a classroom presentation, a tour of the Georgetown Wet Weather Treatment Station for students, and a public Green Jobs Symposium and Career Fair sponsored by King County and the Sustainable Building and Science Technology program.

Explore our workforce development resources below:

A group of people in orange safety vests and hard hats on a tour of the facility
King County hosts a tour of the Georgetown Wet Weather Treatment Station for students of the Sustainable Building and Science Technology program at South Seattle College – Georgetown Campus.

RainWise!

We know that many South Park residents are excited about raingardens and other “green” solutions to keep polluted runoff or storm water out of the Duwamish. The RainWise program provides rebates that cover up to 100% of the cost of installing rain gardens and cisterns that will help manage runoff.

To learn more about the RainWise program, visit https://700milliongallons.org/

King County’s commitment to sustainability and Equity and Social Justice

King County has prioritized sustainable development and practices that support Equity and Social Justice (ESJ).

  • The County’s sustainability program provides a green building guide for infrastructure projects. On this project, we’ll look for sustainability opportunities at the storage tank site and in the South Park neighborhood. 
  • King County promotes Equity and Social Justice in design, construction and management of infrastructure projects so communities can thrive. This means we are committed to taking feedback from the community, and you can expect to see us working with community groups in the project area to ensure that the project reflects neighborhood values.

Learn more at www.kingcounty.gov/equity

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