Seattle City Lights Diablo Wastewater Treatment Plant has earned an Outstanding Wastewater Treatment Plant Award from the state Department of Ecology for 2008. Seattle City Lights Diablo Wastewater Treatment Plant has earned an Outstanding Wastewater Treatment Plant Award from the state Department of Ecology for 2008.
Ecology understands that it takes diligent operators and a strong management team, working effectively together to maintain this high level of compliance, Ecology Water Quality Section Manager Kevin Fitzpatrick wrote in a letter to the utility announcing the award.
Ecology would like to specifically recognize the certified operators for their hard work, resourcefulness, and award-winning efforts, he said. We are grateful for your dedication to protect the Skagit River, a great natural and recreational resource of the Northwest. We look forward to your continuing excellence in the coming years.
The award recognizes plants which throughout the year have outstanding operations, passed all environmental tests, analyzed all samples, turned in all state-required reports, and avoided permit violations.
Ecology found 92 wastewater treatment plants in the state had perfect track records in 2008. This amounts to nearly one-third of the states treatment plants, a sharp rise from 78 plants that earned the honor in 2007.
One mistake is all it takes for a plant to be ineligible for this award, City Light Superintendent Jorge Carrasco said. I am proud of the men and women who work at our Diablo Wastewater Treatment Plant for their unwavering efforts to operate the plant in an environmentally responsible manner.
Seattle City Light is a municipally owned electric utility serving Seattle area customers since 1905. City Light has the oldest continuously operating hydroelectric dam in the U.S. located on the Cedar River. It also operates three hydroelectric projects on the Skagit River. In 2005, City Light became the first utility in the country to achieve zero net carbon dioxide emissions and has remained carbon neutral ever since.