Reclaimed water is the highly treated by-product of the County's wastewater system. It can be used safely and effectively for landscaping and agricultural irrigation, heating and cooling, and industrial processing. Through cooperative pilot projects with Foster Golf Course, the City of Tukwila, Baker Commodities and others, Sims said the County's wastewater treatment plant in Renton will more than double its production of reclaimed water for use by parks, businesses, and other communities.
Reclaimed water is part of daily life in drier regions across the United States.
And, even though we are thought of as a very rainy region, the drought reminds us of the value of water conservation. This project captures two million gallons a day of clean, useful water, which can be used for landscaping and other uses. Sims said the pilot projects are part of a long-term King County commitment to water conservation and turning used water into a resource. The County already irrigates its Fort Dent Park, and many of its newly planted projects, with reclaimed water. The use of reclaimed water this year for daily County operations such as irrigation, cleaning streets, bus stops and sidewalks, and washing runways at King County International Airport is also being explored.