Moving Beyond Minimal Treatment: King County's Brightwater Treatment Project

Abstract

King County is building the Brightwater project, which includes one of the largest membrane bioreactor (MBR) wastewater treatment plants in the world. MBR provides a higher level of treatment than standard secondary treatment, resulting in significant reduction of pollutants discharged to Puget Sound. In this presentation, the decision process for selection of the technology will be examined, including how different factors influenced decisions and the design of the Brightwater project, including public input, permitting, and environmental issues.