File:Denny Way sewer outfall into Puget Sound, Seattle, May 12, 1913 (MOHAI 9889).jpg

Prior to 1890, Seattle relied on a haphazard assortment of sewers and cesspools that, at best, drained into surrounding lakes and salt water. Faced with recurring threats of waterborne diseases including typhoid and cholera, City Engineer Benezette Williams designed the Seattle's first centralized combined sewage system plan in 1891. This plan sought to remove as much city sewage as possible into the salt water of Elliott Bay and the Puget Sound with more limited drainage into the fresh water of Lake Washington. Although originally untreated, the City undertook a succession of steps starting in the late 1910's to remove solids, begin primary sewage treatment, and eventually separate storm water from raw sewage. Metropolitan King County took over the City's wastewater treatment responsibilities in the 1960s, but Seattle continues to manage its network of storm sewers. In this image one of the Seattle Engineering Department sewer outfall pipes is seen entering Puget Sound below Denny Way, looking east from Alaskan Way.

Sign in image: Sherwin-Williams Paints & Varnishes Caption by: http://www.seattle.gov/cityarchives/exhibits-and-education/online-exhibits/a-city-at-work/water-system

• Subjects (LCTGM): Sewerage--Washington (State)--Seattle