Green River Watershed

The Green River Watershed is the land area where rainwater drains to the Green-Duwamish River. The watershed includes Black River, Springbrook Creek, Mill Creek, Soos Creek, Jenkins and Covington Creeks, Newaukum Creek, Crisp Creek, and other tributaries.

Notice of Boating Hazard: Green River logjams below Metzler Park takeout NEW!

Introduction to Watersheds

Basin Steward Program
A summary of the Water and Land Resources Basin Steward Program including how to contact your Green River Basin Steward.

Community Service Center
Information about King County's satellite offices including the Kent Office in the Green River watershed at 401 N. 4th Avenue, Room 1A, Kent, WA 98032, phone number 206-205-7330. The Black River satellite office is located nearby in Renton.

Green River Watershed Facts:

• Watershed Size: 492 square miles
• River Length: 65 miles from Elliott Bay to Howard Hanson Dam
• Population: Approx. 400,000
• Salmon Species Present: Chinook, chum, coho, winter steelhead
• Other Interesting Wildlife: Elk, black bear, cougar, bald eagle, osprey, blue heron
• Number of Dams: Two -
  • Howard Hanson Dam, Built 1962 and
  • Tacoma Water Supply Diversion Dam, Built 1911

  Contact us

  For help with services in the Green River watershed or to report a problem, please call or email: Josh Kahan, Green River Basin Steward at 206-296-8052. For Newaukum Creek, contact Tom Beavers at 206-205-5620.

  Wastewater Treatment

  South Treatment Plant
  An overview of King County's wastewater treatment plant on the Duwamish River.

  Soos Creek Sewer Improvement
  Increased capacity to help meet growing demands for sewer service in Covington, Maple Valley and Black Diamond.

  Pacific Pump Station Replacement Project
  Overview of a plan to replace a worn-out pump station in the City of Pacifc and add capacity.

  Combined Sewer Overflow Control Program
  During heavy rainstorms, our combined sewers may exceed their capacity and the mixture of untreated sewage and stormwater is allowed to overflow into the Duwamish River and other water bodies to keep it from backing up into homes and businesses. Learn how King County is working to improve our system to control overflows.

  Flooding and Hydrology

  Green River Flooding Information
  Look up real time gage data, flood stage info and learn what it means along the Green-Duwamish River.

  Hydrologic Gage Data Map
  Look up detailed gaging station data from area creeks and rivers.

  Surface Water and Groundwater

  Green-Duwamish River Watershed Map
  Drainage map displaying streams, lakes, drainage divides, and major roads in the area that drains to the Duwamish waterway and into Elliott Bay. The map is in Acrobat format. File size is 941 Kb.

  South King County Groundwater Management Area
  Learn about plans to protect the aquifer in the south county area including the Green-Duwamish watershed localities of Renton, Kent, Auburn, Covington, Black Diamond, Maple Valley, Tukwila, and areas in between.

  
  Watch Video:
  Preventing flood disasters
  King County is at work this summer repairing levees
  RealPlayer needed to watch this video.
  Video length 22 minutes, 22 seconds.

  Green-Duwamish River Watershed Quality Assessment
  Comprehensive study of the Green-Duwamish River water quality and the land area draining to it, to help guide policy, prioritize cleanup and restoration efforts, and protect salmon stocks from depletion.

  Combined Sewer Overflow Water Quality Assessment
  Analysis of water and sediment quality in the Duwamish River and Elliott Bay to use as a basis for cleanup and restoration projects.

  Streams Monitoring Program
  Keeping watch for pollution in the Duwamish Waterway, Green River and tributary creeks. Water quality data are available online for:

  • Crisp Creek
  • Green - Duwamish River
  • Longfellow Creek
  • Mill Creek
  • Newaukum Creek
  • Soos, Jenikins and Covington Creeks
  • Springbrook Creek

  Endocrine disrupting chemicals in the environment
  Learn about these natural and synthetic chemicals flushed daily into our waters, and discover what King County is doing to protect public health and the environment as the science and our understanding of endocrine disruptors develops.

  2004 Rural Drainage Program Expenditures and Accomplishments
  Desribes accomplishments and expenditures of King County's Surface Water Management Program on Vashon-Maury Island, the Enumclaw Plateau, and Snoqualmie Valley.

  Combined Sewer Overflow Control Program
  Info about CSO outfalls located on Puget Sound, Lake Washington, Lake Union, and the Duwamish River including how they're monitored, reduced, and eliminated.

  Norfolk Cleanup Project
  Information about an effort to remove contaminated sediments from the Duwamish River to enhance and restore the river habitat.

  Salmon & Trout Recovery

  WRIA 9 Salmon Recovery:
  Green/Duwamish River
  This page provides information about the recovery of threatened salmon species in the Green/Duwamish drainage area including an overview of the planning process, scientific information, and meeting records. We welcome your participation.

  • Final WRIA 9 Salmon Habitat Plan
    Green/Duwamish River and Central Puget Sound Watershed
  • Salmon Habitat Protection and Restoration Projects Funded for WRIA 9
    Over $8.7 million for projects and acquisitions to preserve and restore salmon habitat have been funded by the Washington State Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB) from since 1999 .
  • Green-Duwamish River Watershed Quality Assessment
    Comprehensive study of the Green-Duwamish River water quality and the land area draining to it, to help guide policy, prioritize cleanup and restoration efforts, and protect salmon stocks from depletion.

  Newaukum Creek Basin Characterization Project Report NEW!
  Describes the condition of Newaukum Creek, identifies ecological problems to inform restoration priorities, enumerates knowledge gaps to resolve, and anticipates how conditions in the creek may change in the future.
  

  Green Duwamish River Ecosystem Restoration (external pdf)
  A federal Interagency partnership to recognize excellence in designing and implementing exemplary stream corridor restoration projects that improve water quality, the natural environment, and the local community.

  
  This publication includes an overview of the Green/Duwamish River watershed, findings of the Ecosystem Restoration Study, and recommendations for action. To view this publication, you will need Acrobat installed on your computer. File size is 379 Kb and will take approximately 1.1 minutes to download on a 56 Kb/sec modem.
  

  Recreation and Appreciation

  King County Natural Areas:

  Look up individual properties protected in King County's open space system for their ecological and working resource values. The natural lands site provides addresses, pictures, location maps and rules for public use:

  • Auburn Narrows Natural Area
  • Bass Lake Natural Area
  • Big Spring Creek/Newaukum Creek Natural Area
  • Bingaman Pond Natural Area
  • Covington Natural Area
  • Flaming Geyser Natural Area
  • Green River Natural Area
  • Hamm Creek Natural Area
  • Hatchery Natural Area
  • Horsehead Bend Natural Area
  • Kanaskat Natural Area
  • Little Soos Creek Wetlands Natural Area
  • Neely Bridge Natural Area
  • Porter Levee Natural Area

  Interurban Trail
  Green River Trail
  The Interurban and Green River Trails will comprise a system of 46 miles. The Interurban Trail currently covers 14 miles from I-405 in Tukwila to 3rd Ave SW, just south of Pacific. The Green River Trail will span 30 miles from Seattle's Alki Point to King County's Auburn Narrows Park. Its completed sections traverse the industrial heart of the valley from south Seattle through Kent, connecting to a number of neighborhoods and community trails.

  Soos Creek Trail
  The Soos Creek Trail features a gentle grade in a natural setting suitable for leisurely strolls, bicycle rides and horse rides. To find out more about this unique resource, the King County Park System offers a variety of interpretive programs and volunteer opportunities for interested trail users.

  Boating on the Green River: review our flooding & habitat project locations, and hyperlink to the boaters page for safety tips, boating signals, and other useful info.

  Lands

  Forestry
  Comprehensive information related to forestry across King County including parts of the Green River Watershed.

  Agriculture Topics
  Comprehensive information related to agriculture in King County including parts of the Green River Watershed.

  Community Supported Agriculture Farms

  Historic and Recent Aerial Photographs
  Aerial photos from the 1930's, 1970's and 1990's illustrating growth around Lake Meridian in the Soos Creek drainage, among other areas in King County.