The Sammamish watershed is part of the greater Lake Washington - Cedar River drainage, encompassing the land area in which rainwater drains to Lake Sammamish, the Sammamish River and out into Lake Washington. The Sammamish watershed includes Swamp Creek, North Creek, Bear Creek and Little Bear Creek, Cottage Lake Creek, Evans Creek, Issaquah Creek, Tibbetts Creek and a number of smaller creeks draining to the east and west shores of Lake Sammamish.
Community Service Center
Information about King County satellite offices including one in Sammamish at the address, 801 - 228th Ave SE, Sammamish, WA 98075, phone number, 425-295-0750. To the north in Bear Creek, visit the Cottage Lake Community Center near Redmond.
Basin Steward Program
Look up watershed experts to get answers to questions and help solve watershed related problems. For more information about the Sammamish Watershed, or to get involved in basin activities contact one of the Basin Stewards in the Sammamish Watershed:
Issaquah Creek and Bear Creek
Tom Beavers, 206-205-5620
Lake Sammamish Story
Learn about past and current pollution problems on Lake Sammamish, and what King County is doing to protect the lake.
Lake Sammamish Water Quality Data
This page offers an overview of Lake Sammamish water quality issues and provides graphs of water quality data from several sampling locations on the lake, spanning years. Graphs display temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, nitrogen, phosphorus, chlorophyll, bacteria, tranparency, and other data.
Swimming Beach Surveys
Find information about levels of bacterial pollution and relative health risks at swimming beaches on Lake Washington, Lake Sammamish and other King County lakes.
Streams Monitoring Program
Keeping watch for pollution in greater Lake Washington streams including those in the Sammamish Watershed. Water quality data are available online for:
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.
Redmond-Bear Creek Valley Groundwater Management Area
Issaquah Valley Groundwater Management Area
Learn about plans to protect the aquifer in areas spanning the Sammamish watershed including Woodinville, Redmond, Sammamish, Issaquah and areas in between.
Sediment Quality Evaluation in Lake Sammamish, Lake Union, and Lake Washington
Report of chemical and biological substances, their distribution and toxicity, and benthic communities at various sample sites.
Bear Creek and Cottage Lake Creek Mussel Survey
Freshwater mussels are a strong indicator of water quality. This report provides information about freshwater Mussels found in Bear and Cottage Lake Creeks during Habitat Assessments in 2001.
Sammamish Watershed Map
Drainage map displaying streams, lakes, drainage divides, major roads, in King County and Snohomish County portions of the Sammamish River Watershed. The map is in Acrobat format. File size is 426 Kb.
East Lake Sammamish report summary (1994)
Bear Creek Program report summary (1994)
Building a Beaver Deceiver
Example of a technique to keep beavers from damming stormwater facilities, located at Peterson Pond in the Sammamish watershed.
WRIA 8 Salmon Recovery
Lake Washington, Cedar River, Sammamish
This site provides information about the recovery of threatened salmon species in the Sammamish, Lake Washington, and Cedar River drainage area including an overview of the planning process, scientific information, and meeting records. We welcome your participation.
Willowmoor Reach Restoration
Read an overview of this project to restore habitat on the upper Sammamish River in Marymoor Park, review its timeline and find contact information. The project will reconfigure 1,400 feet of the Sammamish River to improve and expand the habitat available for fish and wildlife -- while maintaining current flood protection on the river and along the Lake Sammamish shoreline.
Current Status of Kokanee in the Lake Washington Basin
Habitat Inventory and Assessment of Three Sammamish River Tributaries: North, Swamp, and Little Bear Creeks (Acrobat format)
Issaquah Creek Flood Information
View real-time gage data and map for Issaquah Creek and learn about expected conditions at various flood phases.
Hydrologic Gage Data Map
Look up detailed gaging station data for creeks in the region.
The Wastewater Treatment Division is planning major improvements to the sewage treatment system serving King and Snohomish Counties. The planned Brightwater project encompasses a new treatment plant, its associated conveyance pipes, and an outfall to Puget Sound. The treatment plant may be located in the Cedar River- Lake Washington watershed.
Lake Shorelines, Life on the Edge Video Series (Windows Media format)New
Watch a video that describes lakes in King County and how residents value them, with ideas that shoreline landowners may like to apply to help preserve the quality of lakes and lake ecosystems.
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:
East Lake Sammamish Trail
This scenic and safe regional trail hugs Lake Sammamish and runs from the city of Issaquah to Redmond, connecting Lake Sammamish State Park at the south end with King County's Marymoor Park at the north end of Lake Sammamish.
Burke-Gilman Trail
Sammamish River Trail
King County's beloved regional trail hugs Lake Washington and the Sammamish River to provide a link between the Cities of Seattle, Lake Forest Park, Bothell, Redmond and the crown jewel of our parks system, Marymoor Park.
BNSF Eastside Rail Corridor
Describes a King County effort to save a 47 mile rail corridor to turn into a trail for the public.
Marymoor Park
The largest and most diverse destination park in King County's portfolio of Parks. Provides hundreds of acres of nature and offers a wide variety of recreation options including birdwatching, rock climbing, fishing, off-leash dog walking, bike racing, team sports, outdoor concerts and movies and just being.
Boating on the Sammamish River: review our flooding & habitat project locations, and hyperlink to the boaters page for safety tips, boaters' signals, and other useful info.
Puget Sound Fresh
Look up Sammamish Valley u-pick farms, community-supported farms, nurseries and produce markets.
Forestry Topics
Comprehensive information related to forestry across King County including parts of the Sammamish Watershed.
Agriculture Topics
Comprehensive information related to agriculture in King County including parts of the Sammamish Watershed.
Redmond Ridge and Blakely Ridge Urban Planned Developments
News and information about these two planned developments which together cover 2126 acres of the Bear Creek basin in the northern Sammamish watershed.
Historic and Recent Aerial Photographs
Aerial photos from the 1930's, 1970's, and 1990's illustrating growth around Cottage Lake, among other areas in King County.