Title
AN ORDINANCE authorizing the condemnation of property interests needed to replace the Ballard siphon in the Washington ship canal.
Body
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. Findings:
A. The existing Ballard siphon in the Washington ship canal was built in 1935 and consists of two thirty-six-inch diameter wood stave pipes. The existing Ballard siphon on average conveys seven to eight million gallons of untreated sewage per day across the Washington ship canal.
B. In November 2005, the wastewater treatment division (WTD) of the department of natural resources and parks employed sonar technology to inspect the condition of the Ballard siphon. In January 2006, a structural engineering consultant firm submitted a structural analysis report of the sonar inspection. The report stated that the Ballard siphon had exceeded its service life, and was failing in multiple locations. As a consequence of the report findings, there was concern that the pipe may be in imminent danger of collapse.
C. In response to the report, and in accordance with K.C.C. 4.16.050, on March 29, 2006, the King County executive issued an emergency declaration and waiver from procurement requirements to replace the existing Ballard siphon.
D. In April 2006, by Ordinance 15424, the county council approved a supplemental appropriation of capital funds, on an emergency basis, for the Ballard siphon replacement project.
E. Subsequent inspections of the pipeline revealed that the anomalies in the earlier sonar images were not serious defects in the siphon, but it still remains a high priority project due to the risk of failure still due to age of the wood stave pipe and the uncertainties about the condition of the pipe. As part of the replacement project the county must acquire certain real property interests and/or rights in property for the Ballard siphon replacement project.
F. The risk of a pipe failure is high but not an emergency. A catastro...

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