Seattle has a long, embarrasing history of being quick to adopt incredibly expensive, cutting-edge technological solutions to concerns that other cities have solved in a much more reliable and much less spendy way.
I recall another fiasco involving a multimillion-dollar fireboat decades ago. At the time, the design was cutting-edge, including that of the pumping systems. Problem was, the designers hadn’t considered electrolysis issues that would crop up when salt water passed at high speed and high pressure through pipes that had only been tested in fresh water.
The result? The electrolysis gradually ‘ate away’ at the pipes until one burst, almost killing a firefighter belowdecks.
The fireboat went away after that, along with millions of tax dollars.