King County water quality protection gets $3.3 million boost from state Ecology grants

King County's efforts to improve water quality through stormwater management are getting a big shot in the arm with more than $3.3 million in new grants from the Washington State Department of Ecology.

The state grant funds will be used to make regional stormwater improvements, develop low-cost maintenance systems and other important advances in King County's stormwater management activities carried out by the county's Water and Land Resources Division and the Road Services Division.

"The State Department of Ecology is a valued partner in our work to control stormwater and improve water quality across King County," said Executive Ron Sims. "These grants will help King County in its stewardship of vital water resources for our region."

The grants and projects descriptions are:

Juanita Creek Basin retrofitting analysis project - $604,109
Staff will identify future retrofit projects and other actions across the highly-urbanized Juanita Creek basin that will bring the creek into compliance with water quality standards through increased stormwater control where little or none exists now. Information will be used to secure project funding and provide guidance for retrofitting of other urbanized basins.

White Center regional stormwater improvements - $1 million
King County is funded to complete seven projects in White Center, where stormwater is a significant source of pollution. The projects are all in the Lake Hicks watershed, a small water body that has had degraded water quality due to runoff. The projects include retrofitting a stormwater facility, restoring a pond-wetland, designing and building a water quality facility, repairing a bioswale and retention vault and conducting watershed resident education and monitoring to assess water quality improvement.

STORMing Puget Sound: Stormwater Outreach for Regional Municipalities - $978,925
Storming Puget Sound - a regional consortium of Puget Sound jurisdictions, led by King County - will develop and test the effectiveness of media campaign and social marketing tools designed to change behaviors that directly affect non-source stormwater pollution generated through household practices, including yard care, car care, pet waste, storm drain awareness, and other household practices.

In-line ditch stormwater treatment best management practices programs - $561,000
This grant will be used to develop low-cost, low-maintenance stormwater treatment best management practice retrofits for roadside ditches. These will be widely applied by small jurisdictions unable to afford regional stormwater treatment systems. Jurisdictions will save money using this system by eliminating land purchases and minimizing permitting, design, construction and maintenance requirements, all while removing pollutants, retaining stormwater locally and reducing peak flows.

Northeast Novelty Hill Road Phase 1 Low Impact Development implementation - $167,778
Low Impact Development (LID) techniques will be applied to the Northeast Novelty Hill Road project along a 1.3-mile-long road improvement project connecting urban centers through a rural landscape. LID techniques will be expanded and modified to address challenging site conditions. Stormwater management effectiveness will be evaluated and results applied to future projects.

For more information about King County's stormwater resources and references, visit http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/stormwater/links.htm.

For more information about the King County Department of Transportation, visit http://www.metrokc.gov/kcdot/index.aspx.