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Puget Sound Marine Services and Information

Puget Sound marine topics

Environmental indicators for marine habitat
Learn about the condition of King County's marine habitat (waters, shorelines and sediments), key influencing factors, King County actions, and how you can help.

King County Sound Tips 10 Steps to Help Save the Sound King County and Puget Sound Tips
Learn what you can do to protect Puget Sound.  This brochure is one of King County's contributions as a member of the Puget Sound Partnership, which is beginning work on a 15-year plan to protect and restore the Sound.  King County works to safeguard Puget Sound, protect human health and enrich the region's quality of life.

King County Family Fun
King County Family Fun

Learn about environmentally-friendly and healthy choices for kids, parents and teachers, and find fun and meaningful activiities.

Do you think you know how to live a green and health lifestyle? Take the King County Kids Green Challenge (844KB Acrobat PDF) and receive a cool eco-friendly prize!

Puget Sound Partnership (external link)
Public/private group working to develop an aggressive 15-year plan to solve Puget Sound's most vexing problems.

Saltwater shorelines, Life on the Edge video series Includes Video
Watch a video that describes what affects Puget Sound beaches and their habitat, with ideas that beachgoers and shoreline property owners may like to apply to help preserve the quality of saltwater beaches and their ecosystems.

History of King County's regional wastewater treatment utility
Read how our region worked to keep our lakes and Puget Sound clean and healthy, including the early days of sewage treatment and disposal in King County, the birth of Metro and development of regional facilities to process the waste produced by our metropolitan area.

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 Puget Sound and other waters to keep it from backing up into homes and businesses. Learn how King County is working to improve our system to control overflows.

Artist's rendering of King County's Brightwater Treatment Plant Brightwater plant siting decision
A 114-acre site next to Route 9 near Woodinville is the site for the new Brightwater Treatment Plant to serve sewer customers in north King and south Snohomish counties for at least the next 0 years.
News: Route 9 site chosen for Brightwater Treatment Plant

King County Climate Change Plan
How King County seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, adapt to projected climate change impacts, and embed mitigation and adaptation into county policy decisions. The plan incorporates issues, goals and actions related to coastal areas.

Coastal Areas breakout session results, King County Climate Change Conference
Review a summary report describing anticipated affects of global warming on coastal lands in Washington State with proposed adaptation strategies. Also, look up the coastal area session agenda, presentations, and speaker credentials and biographies.

Shoreline Master Program
Learn about King County's program to protect shorelines on Puget Sound, large lakes and major rivers.

Sea star identification key
Identify common Intertidal "starfish" of Puget Sound.

Juvenile salmonid composition, timing, distribution, and diet in marine nearshore waters of Central Puget Sound in 2001-2002
Scientific report essential for protecting Puget Sound salmon from extinction and to recover depleted salmon stocks.

Marine shoreline inventory report
Inventory of selected shoreline habitat features that support juvenile salmonids, presented in part using high-resolution aerial photos with overlays that classify habitat types.

Inventory and assessment of current and historic beach feeding sources/erosion and accretion areas for the marine shorelines of Water Resource Inventory Areas 8 and 9

Endocrine disrupting chemicals in the environment
Learn about these natural and synthetic chemicals flushed daily into our marine 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.

State of the nearshore report
It's no surprise that human impacts have caused big trouble for the marine shoreline environment in King County, but a new first-of-its-kind report released September 5, 2001 is helping to crystallize the extent of the problem.

Elliot Bay nearshore substrate enhancement
A status report on a project to restore nearshore habitat by placing cobble, quarry spall, pea gravel and oyster shell at sites near the Duwamish Head and Seacrest.

Central Puget Sound watershed
Info in King County about Puget Sound and the creek drainages that drain directly to it.

Environmental Laboratory
Collects samples from marine waters, lakes, rivers, biosolids application sites, industries and wastewater treatment plants, and analyzes samples in one of several labs including trace metals, organics, conventionals, microbiology and aquatic toxicology labs.

Beach Assessment Program
A report of volunteer marine life surveys conducted at King County beaches.

Combined sewer overflow water quality assessment: Duwamish River and Elliott Bay

Beyond the beach: Learn about the nearshore environment and what you can do to help protect it from damage.

Learn about the Puget Sound nearshore environment from this illustrated presentation:

Learn about the Puget Sound nearshore environment

Puget Sound marine monitoring
Authoritative source for water quality monitoring data, scientific studies, and marine restoration projects in Central Puget Sound waters of King County.
Marine Monitoring Reports: 1997, 1998, 1999 -2000, 2001, 2002-2003, 2004, 2005-2007

Puget Sound marine life photos
View a photo collection of marine plants and animals including pictures of Puget Sound fish, invertebrates, and algae.

Related information

Related agencies

News and announcements

Countywide Strategic Plan

Aug. 14, 2009
External article, Seattle Times
Judge rejects Maury Island gravel-mine permit

Aug. 7, 2009
External opinion, Seattle Times
Tough choices in the recovery of Puget Sound

Jul. 30, 2009
External opinion, Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce
Puget Sound’s invisible enemy: polluted stormwater

Jul. 27, 2009
Utility crew stops small overflow on Vashon Island

Jul. 8, 2009
External article, Seattle Times
Beach naturalists show off Puget Sound's wonders at low tide

Jul. 7, 2009
External article, Seattle P-I
DNR calls for halt to Maury Island gravel mine

Jun. 15, 2009
Clean-water utility earns national environmental awards

Jun. 14, 2009
External article, Seattle Times
Oysters in deep trouble: Is Pacific Ocean's chemistry killing sea life?

Jun. 13, 2009
External report, KING5
Bainbridge sewage pipe leaked more than thought

Jun. 12, 2009
External report, Seattle P-I
$50 Million Federal Dollars for Puget Sound

Jun. 2, 2009
External article, Seattle P-I
Leaking Bainbridge Island sewage pipe repaired

Jun. 1, 2009
External article, Seattle Times
Raw sewage pouring into harbor off Bainbridge Island

Jun. 1, 2009
External article, Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce
Old wood pipeline will get $44M replacement

King County family fun!King County Family Fun!
Resources, games, fun facts, tricks and tips to reduce your carbon footprint and green up your ride, home and garden

May 19, 2009
Brightwater outfall earns local ‘Project of the Year’ award

May 18, 2009
External article, Seattle Times
Scientist discovers beavers building prime salmon habitat in Skagit Delta

May 10, 2009
External article, Seattle Times
Abalone are treasured -- nearly to extinction

May 5, 2009
External article, Seattle P-I
Wash. sea otters face potential disease threats

Apr. 23, 2009
External article, Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce
Poisons in Puget Sound: where they come from

Apr. 23, 2009
External article, Seattle Times
Federal protection proposed for Puget Sound rockfish

Apr. 21, 2009
External opinion, Seattle P-I
Environmental challenges remain long after first Earth Day

Apr. 16, 2009
External opinion, Crosscut
Saving our region: Nice plans, but...

Apr. 16, 2009
External opinion, Seattle Times
Puget Sound cleanup only succeeds with public involvement

External program, PBS
Frontline: Poisoned Waters video
On air and online April 21

Apr. 16, 2009
External report, KING5
PBS program 'Frontline' takes a look at Puget Sound video

Apr. 16, 2009
Pollution prevention a sound business investment for award-winning companies

Apr. 13, 2009
External opinion, Seattle Times
Close loopholes in Washington's Growth Management Act

Feb. 9, 2009
External opinion, Seattle Times
Beyond Puget Sound: Ten ideas for saving the Salish Sea

Mar. 16, 2009
Council acts to reduce levels of harmful phosphorus in County lakes and streams
Patterson initiative limits use of fertilizers that choke oxygen out of waterways

Feb.11, 2009
Clean-water infrastructure investments a top priority in 2009

Feb. 9, 2009
External article, Seattle Times
Gauging health of the Sound

Feb. 9, 2009
External article, Seattle P-I
Coho, chinook in 'dramatic' decline
But pink salmon survival rising in B.C.

Feb. 4, 2009
External article, Seattle P-I
Stormwater isn't just a big-city problem
State board rules small jurisdictions need to start curbing polluted runoff

» Archived Puget Sound Marine Features