The Engineering Department (SED) maintained the City's streets and bridges, designed and oversaw construction of public works projects, provided traffic and transportation planning, and operated the sewer and solid waste utility. The position of City Surveyor was created in 1873 to survey the City, establish boundaries and street grades, and administer condemnation processes. This position was renamed City Engineer in 1890. In 1931 the Engineering Department absorbed part of the Department of Public Utilities and in 1936 it assumed the responsibilities of the Department of Streets and Sewers and the Traffic Department. In 1997, the water, solid waste, drainage, and wastewater utilities from the Engineering and Water departments were merged with the Engineering Services Division of SED and the Customer Service Call Center and Construction Engineering Sections of City Light to form Seattle Public Utilities. The traffic and transportation functions of the Engineering Department were consolidated in the Seattle Transportation Department.
Files relating to the work of the Engineering Department's Solid Waste Division. A subset of earlier files contains information on solid waste disposal and rates over time, as well as memos from division manager Harvey Mashinter. These may have been kept for historical background. The other folders in the series date mostly from the late 1980s and deal with planning and operations of the division at that time.
Records are open to the public.
[Item and date], Solid Waste Subject Files, Record Series 2624-02. Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives.