The city of Seattle plans to spend $5.4 to dig a grass drainage ditch to filter storm water that has been flowing into South Lake Union.
According to The Seattle Times, the City Council has dubbed the project the Capitol Hill Water Quality Improvement Project.
The four-block ditch is intended to treat runoff that comes from both Capitol Hill and First Hill, by slowing water so that the dirt can settle before reaching the lake. Other swales have previously been constructed in other Seattle neighborhoods.
Councilman Richard Colin, who is also chair of the Utilities Committee, told The Seattle Times that sediment is one of the city’s major pollutants.
The swale will also provide new green space, but will eliminate parking spaces along the streets. One church opposed the project because it would reduce the available parking for parishioners.
Other opponents stated that the swale would not affect outflow from Swedish Medical Center, which received a citation last year for dumping raw sewage into the storm water drainage system.
Source: The Seattle Times
