Seattle to Study Cruise Ships’ Wastewater Treatment Systems

The King County Council in Washington has called for a study on how cruise ships use the county’s wastewater treatment system to ensure that the waste onboard doesn’t pollute the Puget Sound when visiting Seattle.

According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 150 cruises leave for Alaska from Seattle from May to September, and each cruise generates tens of thousands of gallons of water. Some of the water is dumped into the ocean offshore, while other ships have onboard treatment systems.

Councilman Larry Philips told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that the county’s wastewater treatment system is underutilized during the summer and might be of help to the ships.

The motion approved allows the county’s Wastewater Treatment Division to review the potential for processing waste from cruise ships through the county’s system.

Source: Seattle Post-Intelligence