West Seattle, Washington
20 Friday
A nearby resident noticed crews installing solar panels recently atop the building in The Triangle that holds Westside Neighbors Shelter, the West Seattle Veteran Center, and American Legion Post 160. We asked shelter manager/post commander Keith Hughes about it; he said the building now has a “14.6 KW Solar Array on the roof. It was all completed with donated equipment and donated labor. By my calculations, it will provide about 65% of our current electrical use, saving us an average of about $450 per month.” We asked about the donors: “This was a joint effort of West Seattle Electric and Solar, Platt Electric Supply, and Mad Energy Solar of Puyallup.” (WS Electric and Solar is Keith’s own company.) Meantime, two other notes about West Seattle’s only emergency shelter, itself operated with donations and volunteers: First, also on the subject of utility bills, the shelter has new help to cover theirs, thanks to a church group from Capitol Hill – read about that here. Second, one week from today you’re invited to support the shelter while enjoying great music – the West Seattle-based Boeing Employees Choir is performing a benefit concert at 4 pm Sunday, April 7th. No tickets needed; donations will be accepted at the door, at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church (3050 California SW).
10:04 PM: A report of a water break at EC Hughes Playground has police first on the scene, with an officer saying the break is “flooding the whole park.” Dispatch is reporting it to Seattle Public Utilities.
10:39 PM: Officers just reported to dispatch that the water’s been turned off.
11:59 PM: Thanks to “Sunrise Heights” for sending the video and photo, added above.
4:33 PM: So far we have two reports from Gatewood this afternoon about discolored tap water. No emergencies are showing on the Seattle Public Utilities water map, which means hydrant testing is a possibility – that tends to stir up sediment (rust) in the pipes, and as we reported recently, this is the start of the busy season for testing. If brown water happens to you, be sure to contact SPU’s 24/7 hotline at 206-386-1800 to let them know, even if you think someone else in your neighborhood already has. (And don’t do laundry until you’re sure the water’s running clear!)
8:27 PM: As noted in comments, SPU confirmed hydrants were being tested.
(WSB photo, Sunday morning)
After more brown water this weekend – including at WSB HQ – blamed on hydrant testing, which stirs up “sediment” (mostly rust) in the lines, we checked with SFD to see if they had any stats on the number of hydrants tested, and if they could recap the policy. Here’s the reply we received from SFD spokesperson Kristin Hanson:
Per our department policy, hydrants are not inspected when temperatures are below 35 degrees to comply with cold weather procedures, so many stations likely saw a “bright” opportunity with the sunshine this weekend to get started. We inspect all hydrants on an annual basis, typically between the hours of 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Hydrant inspections within neighborhoods is dependent on when the fire station is able to work it into their schedule (with call volume, scheduled training, etc.).
We do keep an internal dashboard for hydrants that tracks the completed hydrant inspections for each fire station district. At this time it isn’t available to the public, and is not updated in real-time so it wouldn’t be of use to alert residents in advance to inspections in their neighborhood. To that point, you mentioned that you saw Engine 37 testing hydrants yesterday; however, that has not been updated in the dashboard. For 2024, it appears the majority of our stations have yet to begin (or not yet recorded) hydrant inspections. We do however, have crews contact the SPU Hydrant Inspection Messaging Line prior to flowing water into the barrel of a City-owned hydrant for non-emergency purposes, including conducting annual hydrant inspections, drilling, refilling the booster tank, or flow testing for the Fire Prevention Division.
Hydrant testing isn’t the only potential cause of brown water, though, so even if you think that’s the cause, please notify Seattle Public Utilities’ hotline – 206-386-1800 – it may be first word of a line break or other problem.
9:53 AM: This time it’s happening here in Upper Fauntleroy, about a mile south of the Gatewood report from Saturday; since early this morning, the water has looked like iced tea. Nothing on the Seattle Public Utilities map. We just got through to SPU’s hotline – 206-386-1800 – and they blame early-morning hydrant testing.
11:26 AM: To be specific, SPU said the hydrant testing was at a “record” pace, and apparently they weren’t exaggerating: We passed firefighters opening two hydrants in Morgan Junction and en route to a third.
Per a text, discolored water is happening in the 6700 block of 41st SW. No incidents on the Seattle Public Utilities map so far, but if/when it happens to you, it’s always important to report it – SPU’s 24-hour number for this is 206-386-1800 – because your report might be first word of a problem. (Another common cause: Hydrant testing stirring up sediment, aka rust, in the pipes.)
A texter reports discolored water near Bar-S Playfields on Alki Point. No incidents are shown on the water-outage map. Remember to report it to Seattle Public Utilities at 206-386-1800 if it ever happens to you.
If you’re traveling through Fauntleroy late tonight or early tomorrow, take care around the intersection of 44th/Brace Point/Wildwood, on the east edge of the Endolyne mini-business district – a Seattle Public Utilities crew is there for what’s described as “planned work,” affecting more than 60 nearby homes and businesses, but expected to be wrapped up by morning.
1:10 PM: Thanks for the tips. Power is out at Jefferson Square, as confirmed by the Seattle City Light outage map, which says 110 customers are affected. (One business, residence, etc. = one customer.) The map says “equipment failure” is to blame. We don’t know which businesses are affected so be forewarned if you were planning to head that way.
1:36 PM: The map indicates the outage is over.
(Added: Photo by Christopher Boffoli)
We have received several questions about a Seattle Fire response that’s been blocking the southbound lanes of California near Hinds. They were originally called there for a suspected gas leak. They couldn’t find evidence of a leak but with Puget Sound Energy‘s help have finally traced the concern to a problem with a meter, which PSE has shut down. The SFD crews will be departing shortly, firefighters just told dispatch.
10:37 PM: According to multiple texted reports, that big squall a half-hour or so ago left behind an Xfinity outage. We’ve heard from customers near 42nd/Andover and 42nd/Manning.
11:30 PM: One of our tipsters reports restoration.
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON: Thanks for the tip. A reader found a sign on the door at Westwood Village Marshall’s saying the store’s without power. The Seattle City Light map shows a 26-customer outage in the area, blamed on “equipment failure.” We went to the center for a quick survey and it appears that businesses north of QFC, on the east-facing side, are affected, so if you’re planning to go to one of the businesses in that area, try calling before you leave.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT: We asked SCL spokesperson Jenn Strang about the outage: “This appears to be an underground system issue. In order to fully and safely access equipment, we will need to take additional phases of power to the shopping center offline.” They delayed that a bit at the request of WWV management, but the outage appears to be resolved now.
4 PM: Thanks for the tip. On this blustery afternoon, a fallen tree/branch is blamed for that 46-customer power outage southeast of Westwood Village. The reader who texted us says, “We heard a loud boom and then everything went dead.” No other outages reported in West Seattle so far today.
5:31 PM: Our tipster tells us the power was restored around 5.
12:49 PM: We noticed that work crew on the north side of 47th/Admiral this morning and since we saw SDOT logos, we sent an inquiry to see if it’s related to the signal troubles at that intersection. While awaiting that reply, we’ve since heard from one nearby resident who says the crew was working on sewer/water, while another says crews were working with the hydrant a few blocks north at 47th/Walker, and that brown water has ensued. So we’re checking with SPU too, but in the meantime, if you’re in the area, check your water before laundry/bathing/etc.
ADDED THURSDAY NIGHT: Here’s what we heard back from SDOT:
Our workers were repairing the road panels, replacing old concrete with new ones featuring curbs. This project is unrelated to the traffic signal issue.
Regarding the traffic signal problem, today a backhoe accidentally blocked a traffic light sensor, causing the light to remain on as it detected a vehicle presence all day. However, the digging is now complete, so we anticipate no further issues with the signal.
To stop issues like this from happening again, we made the northbound detection zone smaller to catch problems with illegal parking or similar situations. We’re still looking into the problem by putting in a hard drive to take pictures for a better look. This should help us find out why it’s acting up.
Just reported by email: “Starting this evening I noticed our tap water was noticeably brown. Not sure if it’s just our house. We’re by 15th Ave SW and Henderson.” No incidents on the Seattle Public Utilties water-trouble map; if it happens to you, be sure to report it to SPU’s 24-hour hotline, 206-386-1800. (And us too!)
12:47 PM: Police are helping SFD block off traffic on 40th SW between Hudson and Dawson [map], southeast of The Junction. Fire crews say a 3/4-inch gas line has been severed and they’re evacuating some homes in the area. They’re awaiting Puget Sound Energy to shut off the gas.
1:13 PM: The incident commander has just told dispatch that PSE has arrived and is “assessing.”
1:51 PM: Firefighters have deemed the nearby houses safe to re-enter, and they’re getting ready to leave the scene.
12:10 PM: Thanks for the texted tip: “Reporting brown water in Alki, near Admiral and 64th. There was a fire truck out earlier, but I wasn’t paying attention if they messed with the hydrant.” Nothing on the Seattle Public Utilities water-trouble map. Any time you notice discolored water at your residence, business, school, etc., report it to SPU at 206-386-1800 (and let us know too – thank you!). The discoloration is from “sediment” – usually rust – in the pipes getting stirred up by activity such as hydrant testing/use or pipe breaks.
2:19 PM: Also received this note from Karla: “All morning we’ve had brown water in High Point (5400 block of) 34th Ave SW.”
Just in from Seattle Public Utilities:
Beach closure signs (are) posted near Cormorant Cove.
Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) responded to reports of a broken (private) side sewer at 3717 Beach Drive SW on Saturday.
The customer hired a contractor to repair a small leak at one of the units. The customer is working with a contractor to perform the repair during favorable tidal conditions this week.
On the recommendation of Public Health – Seattle & King County (PHSKC), SPU has posted signs notifying the public the beach in that immediate area is currently closed to water activities. SPU is working with PHSKC to determine when the beach can be reopened.
The listed address is that of the over-water Harbor West Condos immediately south of Cormorant Cove Park. We’ve reported on several previous sewage-leak problems there.
From a reader via text: “Brown water alert just south of Gatewood Elementary. No known fire hydrant activity on our street (Woodside).” Nothing on the Seattle Public Utilities water-trouble map, either. If this happens at your home/business/etc., be sure to report it to SPU at 206-386-1800, even if you think someone else already has.
Lori wonders if this is happening to anyone else tonight: “Started noticing brown water at our house, near intersection of Erskine & 46th SW.” Nothing on Seattle Public Utilities‘ map so far; if you have water trouble, including discoloration, be sure to report to SPU at 206-386-1800.
Shortly after publishing this story about the city graffiti law, we went to the future Morgan Junction EV-charging lot to check on the much-tagged fencing mesh that Seattle City Light had promised would be removed. As you can see in our photo above, the fencing wrap has been removed; we last recall noticing it still in place on Tuesday, so this would have happened sometime in the past few days. Morgan Community Association president Deb Barker brought up the longrunning vandalism at her organization’s meeting last week (WSB coverage here); when we then followed up with SCL, they said the mesh wasn’t needed any more anyway, so they’d remove it. The fencing went up after an environmental cleanup and tree/shrub removal at the 42nd/Morgan/Fauntleroy site, which is expected to open for EV charging in about a year.
Seattle Public Utilities is working to get the word out about two things that aren’t supposed to go in the garbage any more: Batteries and electronics. It’s a new city rule as of the start of this year. SPU explains both categories need “special handling”; batteries in particular have become a major fire risk at transfer stations. In short:
What doesn’t go in the garbage?
-Cathode ray tubes
-Electronic products covered by the Washington Electronics Recycling Law. These include:
*TVs
*Monitors
*Computers and Laptops
*Tablets (like iPad and Amazon Fire)
*E-Readers (like Kindle and NOOK)
*Portable DVD Players-Batteries, as defined under the state’s Dangerous Waste Regulations. Examples of batteries include but are not limited to:
*Miniature button cell batteries
*Alkaline, silver oxide, zinc air, and other single-use batteries
*Lithium-ion, nickel-cadmium, and other rechargeable batteries
So if you can’t put any of this in your trash or recycling, what can you do with it? The city offers “special item pickups” at an extra charge. For free dropoff – batteries can be taken to the nearby South Transfer Station; this lookup also shows dropoffs at Junction True Value and The Home Depot. For electronics, free dropoff events are coming up in West Seattle this spring (more details when they get closer). There are private services such as Ridwell, too.
(WSB photo with tags partly blurred out)
When Seattle City Light cleared its former substation/future EV-charging site in Morgan Junction, community advocates worried aloud that it would become a vacant eyesore for however much ensuing time it remained vacant, awaiting construction. Those concerns became reality as the cloth draping on the fencing around the site (4118 SW Morgan), which is bordered by two major streets (Fauntleroy and Morgan), has been repeatedly vandalized by taggers (it’s even visible via a Google Street View image from a year ago). When SCL reps came to last week’s Morgan Community Association meeting with a project update – bottom line, as reported here, the site won’t be open for at least a year – MoCA president Deb Barker asked the reps in attendance if SCL would clean up the tagging; the rep wouldn’t commit to that, and suggested the vandalism would probably stop when the site is “activated” (built). So we followed up with SCL spokesperson Jenn Strang to ask if it were really true that the utility had no intention of cleaning up the fencing. She replied that it’s actually not needed any more anyway, so they’ll just remove it: “Thank you for bringing this to our attention. The mesh barrier that has been tagged is no longer required and we have requested that it be removed. A timeline for the removal will be available after a work order has been generated.”
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