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County outlines seven‑module update to Regional Wastewater Services Plan; module one will present action options starting in October
Summary
King County staff said the RWSP update is organized into seven modules and that the first module — to be briefed to RWQC in October–December — will present a spectrum of possible actions for eight capital investment categories for later costing and affordability analysis.
King County staff briefed the Regional Water Quality Committee on Sept. 3 on the process and timing for updating the Regional Wastewater Services Plan (RWSP). The update is organized into seven modules, and staff said they are a quarter of the way through the first module.
"This first module of work is focused on developing actions for eight distinct categories of capital investment across three conceptual approaches," Darren Greevy, RWSP staff lead, said. The three approaches are stay-the-course (business as usual), strategic enhancement and transformative change. The eight capital categories include combined system management, separated system conveyance, asset renewal and replacement, resource recovery and others.
What to expect: Staff said October's briefing will present a "spectrum of possibilities" for the combined system, November will cover actions for asset renewal and replacement, and December will address the separated system. Each action will later be costed, evaluated through an affordability framework and tested with the county's rate and financial tools. Staff said the RWSP working group — which includes MUPAC members, staff and representatives of the Sound Cities Association — is collaborating on defining the action options.
Why this matters: The RWSP update is intended to generate a suite of options that can be compared on cost, delivery feasibility and affordability so elected officials can make policy choices in later modules. Staff said the timeline anticipates a module in 2027 where the county will propose a recommended set of actions after cost and affordability analyses are complete.
Staff emphasized they will present policy-level options to the committee rather than detailed engineering designs at this stage. "We're going to be centering the major policy questions you all brought up and wanted to see addressed in the scoping document," Greevy said. Committee members asked that staff include climate‑adaptation experts and produce materials in advance of briefings so elected officials and stakeholders have time to review the options before meetings.
