{"id":3142,"date":"2022-09-23T18:29:57","date_gmt":"2022-09-23T18:29:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.laneconstruct.com\/?post_type=story&p=3142"},"modified":"2022-11-17T15:06:28","modified_gmt":"2022-11-17T15:06:28","slug":"mudhoney-the-tunnel-thatll-keep-seattles-water-cleaner","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.laneconstruct.com\/who-we-are\/our-stories\/mudhoney-the-tunnel-thatll-keep-seattles-water-cleaner\/","title":{"rendered":"MudHoney, the Tunnel That\u2019ll Keep Seattle’s Water Cleaner"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Who doesn\u2019t benefit from cleaner water? If untreated sewer overflows reach local water, contaminants can affect both public and environmental health<\/a>. A new tunnel in Seattle, part of the Ship Canal Water Quality Project, promises to help prevent an annual average of 75 million gallons of polluted stormwater and sewage from entering the Lake Washington Ship Canal, Salmon Bay, and Lake Union.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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About the New Tunnel<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

During dry weather, local sewage can flow relatively easily to a local wastewater treatment plant. But wet weather has presented a challenge by exceeding the older system\u2019s pipes\u2019 capacity, thus sending a mix of 90% stormwater and 10% sewage to the nearest water body. The new tunnel, which is 2.7 miles long (roughly 4.3 kilometers) and 18\u201910\u201d in diameter (roughly 5.7 meters), can trap and temporarily store more than 29.6 million gallons of stormwater and sewage during heavy rains at once. That\u2019s equivalent to more than 1,900 backyard swimming pools. When blue skies return, these flows will go to the wastewater treatment plant. This new storage tunnel for stormwater and sewage flows will sit underneath Ballard, East Ballard, Fremont, Queen Anne, and Wallingford (1)<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Unusual Name, by Popular Demand<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

How do you dig such a large tunnel? You use a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM). The massive \u201cMudHoney\u201d is a TBM that is 21\u20328\u2032\u2032 in diameter (roughly 6.6 meters). You may be surprised to learn that it got its name through a contest held in early 2021 \u2013 1,200 name suggestions were received and over 30,000 votes were cast. Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) unveiled the name, MudHoney, in honor of a local band (2)<\/sup>. \u201cSince the late \u201980s, Mudhoney, the Seattle-based foursome whose muck\u2010crusted version of rock, shot through with caustic wit and battened down by a ferocious low end, has taken a stand against overflows into our waterways,\u201d SPU shared in a press release.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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MudHoney started digging this summer. This project is expected to be completed and operational by 2025, and is a joint project between the City of Seattle and King County<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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