"Water Ring" Hatchcover

Photo & Text Copyright 2009 Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved, including reproduction or republishing.

In Jersey some unfortunates may sleep with the fishes, while here in Seattle we apparently swim with them :-). More "art underfoot" as we continue to look downward. I spotted this sewer hatchcover on a Pioneer Square neighborhood sidewalk. Seattle has some wonderful "art underfoot" in its commissioned utility hatchcovers. This one features a whale, dolphins, salmon, and swimmers all carried along on a circular wave (yes I know three out of four are mamals while only the salmon are fish). I've shown you several other interesting hatchcover designs in the past, and this is among my top three faves. Seattle Public Utilities has this to say about the design: "Artist Betsy Best-Spadaro’s cast iron hatchcovers for drainage and wastewater are located around downtown and outlying neighborhoods and portray several themes: the interaction between human and marine life, and the water cycle. The first is shown through images of marine animals correlated to bodies of water in the region, including orcas (the Puget Sound) and salmon (streams and rivers); within this design humans swimming with the marine life illustrate the need for good water quality, a responsibility of Seattle Public Utilities’ drainage and wastewater infrastructure. Surrounding these images are a series of rings that describe the water cycle, from rain to bodies of water culminating in a center ring that depicts clean water returning to the waterways through sewers and drainage systems."