Our employees and partners completed major projects in 2024 – including a few record-setting achievements – that better connect communities, protect water quality, improve habitat, reduce flood risks, and cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Many required years of hard work that demonstrated remarkable persistence, such as the Fall City Floodplain Restoration Project. Others, such as the Power Quality Improvement Project at West Point Treatment Plant, needed to be completed quickly due to the increasing risks caused by climate change.
King County Parks completed multiple trail projects that better connect more people to more opportunities. Our Solid Waste Division, meanwhile, made early progress on Re+, beginning to transition to sustainable, circular economy that reduces waste and cuts greenhouse gas emissions.
Each accomplishment produced lasting results that will benefit people, fish, and wildlife for generations.
Here are a few of the top achievements by our workforce and community partners this year.
Providing West Point Treatment Plant operators with the smooth, reliable power they need to protect Puget Sound
Executive Constantine congratulated a project team for completing construction of a unique high-voltage battery system that provides stable power to West Point Treatment Plant, delivering on his emergency declaration to protect Puget Sound and prepare the facility for climate impacts.
The onsite battery system proved its effectiveness two months later during the “bomb cyclone,” providing frontline operators with the smooth, reliable power they needed to ride out multiple voltage sags that in the past might have caused critical pumps to shut down.
Completing King County’s largest-ever floodplain restoration project, improving habitat and protecting farmland along the Snoqualmie River
Our Water and Land Resources Division successfully completed the 145-acre Fall City Floodplain Restoration Project – the largest project of its kind in King County’s history – to improve habitat and protect farmland, homes, and businesses along the Snoqualmie River.
It is among the first County-led projects to apply the principles of Snoqualmie Fish, Farm, and Flood, a landmark agreement Executive Constantine signed in 2017 to achieve multiple benefits for restoration projects.
Here’s coverage by The Seattle Times.
Celebrating a possible breakthrough for native kokanee salmon after a near extinction
Our biologists reported the strongest return of adult kokanee salmon in the Lake Sammamish watershed in a decade, a potential breakthrough for the freshwater species after nearly going extinct a few years ago.
Nearly 8,000 adult kokanee salmon so far have returned from the lake to their spawning ground after 10 years of alarmingly low returns, including just 19 salmon returning to spawn during the 2017-2018 season. The strong return occurred six years after Executive Constantine directed us to enact emergency actions recommended by partners to prevent the possible extinction of a salmon population that is important to the region’s history and habitat.
It was the second promising development for the native species this season. Our employees and partners released a record-high 12,000 fry near the middle of Lake Sammamish.
Crossing the White River to complete 22 miles of paved trail
King County Parks opened a steel bridge that crosses the White River to connect King County and Pierce County communities with 22 miles of uninterrupted paved trail.
The 572-foot-long weathered steel bridge – funded primarily by the King County Parks Levy – completes Foothills Trail, connecting 280,000 residents, schools, business districts, and civic centers while offering scenic views of Mount Rainier. The trail runs along the Carbon River, passing through farmland and forestland.
Training the next generation of professionals who will protect Puget Sound
A national award-winning approach to recruiting and training talent provided King County with a new generation of skilled tradespeople to operate the region’s wastewater system and protect Puget Sound.
The Operator-in-Training Program addressed a critical labor shortage while increasing the racial and gender diversity of the Wastewater Treatment Division’s workforce to better reflect the local communities we serve.
Successful paint recycling program demonstrates the power of extended producer responsibility
A state law that went into effect in 2020 promoting product stewardship dramatically reduced the amount of oil-based paint sent to the regional landfill in Maple Valley, preventing waste and protecting the natural environment in King County.
An estimated 15,000 gallons of oil-based paint were sent to Cedar Hills Regional Landfill in 2019, a year before the state law applied the principles of extended producer responsibility. There was almost none when King County’s Solid Waste Division measured again in 2023.
Farmers credit Loop biosolids for enhancing their drought resilience
Farmers in Central Washington credited our Wastewater Treatment Division for enhancing their drought resilience with Loop biosolids, a natural alternative to artificial fertilizers that require significant energy to produce and often contain harmful chemicals.
Loop transforms wastewater into a nutrient-rich amendment that researchers and soil scientists have found increased crop yields by up to 40%. The long-standing product supports the Wastewater Treatment Division’s mission to put recovered resources to beneficial use.
Watch a video featuring a few of the farmers who use Loop.
New flood plan capitalizes on latest climate science, adapts to increased risk in urban and coastal communities
King County’s first complete update of its Flood Management Plan since 2006 capitalizes on the latest climate science to describe how flood risks in urban and coastal communities and along tributary streams are expected to change in the future. It also identifies actions that will reduce flood risk, improve habitat, and enhance the resilience of communities.
Severe flooding – already the most common natural disaster in King County – is expected to occur more frequently due to climate change. The comprehensive plan will guide investments, strategies, and actions to mitigate increasing flood risk.
On track to restore access to 300-plus miles of fish habitat within a decade
We are on track to restore access to more than 300 miles of fish habitat within a decade, one of the most effective ways to help ensure the survival of native salmon and the southern resident orcas that rely on them as a food source.
Our approach unifies investments to produce multiple benefits for people, fish, and wildlife. For example, a successful project along Ravensdale Creek replaced a century-old culvert with a new trail bridge. King County Parks, meanwhile, transformed the surrounding 1,200 acres from a degraded landscape into dynamic, healthy habitat that features restored forestland, backcountry trails, and a scenic bridge offering views of increased wildlife activity.
Partnering with innovative small businesses to cut greenhouse gas emissions
Executive Constantine toured one of 14 community-led projects that received Re+ Circular Economy Grants – administered by our Solid Waste Division — that contribute to King County’s strategy to cut greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the amount of waste that ends up at Cedar Hills Regional Landfill.
Connecting Eastrail to light rail in Bellevue
King County Parks’ new trail bridge connects Eastrail to Sound Transit’s Wilburton Station in Bellevue, making it safer and easier for pedestrians and cyclists to cross one of the busiest city streets on the Eastside. The 500-foot-long bridge features artwork honoring the authentic Japanese American history of the location led by the community-based organization Isan Bellevue.
Once complete, Eastrail will offer direct connections to four of Sound Transit’s 2 Line stations.
Storing carbon, protecting tree canopy, improving water quality, enhancing habitat: 5 years of progress for King County’s Forest Carbon Program
Five years after King County became the nation’s first local government to offer a certified carbon credit program that protects both urban and rural forests, the initiative is producing lasting results for people, salmon, and wildlife.
Unlike other carbon offset programs that protect forestland in different parts of the world, King County’s program makes it possible for local companies to protect forestland close to home where their employees and their families can explore.
Removing legacy pollution from the upper reach of the Lower Duwamish Waterway Superfund Site
Construction kicked off in November to clean up the five-mile Lower Duwamish Waterway Superfund Site as workers began removing contaminated sediment in the uppermost segment of the project area. An EPA-led partnerships that includes our Wastewater Treatment Division, City of Seattle, and Boeing are working together to implement the multi-year project as members of the Lower Duwamish Waterway Group.
The in-water project will continue to improve water quality and reduce the risks sediment contamination presents to people and fish after more than a century of heavy industrial and commercial use.
Check out the photo gallery of the project.
Modernizing our approach to habitat restoration to capitalize on the unique talents of beavers
King County habitat restoration managers are adapting their work along rivers and streams to account for the transformational changes in landscapes made by beavers as their population recovers and repopulates wetlands and waterways.
The manual says ecologists and engineers should assume that beavers will inhabit their restoration sites and that beaver activities should be anticipated in each step of the project design. Experts say the new approach will better capitalize on beavers’ unique ability to promote biodiversity and improve water quality.
Here’s coverage by The Seattle Times.
Securing a $500 million commitment from EPA to protect water quality, prepare for climate impacts
Our Wastewater Treatment Division secured a nearly $500 million loan package from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to complete 14 critical infrastructure upgrades that will better protect water quality in Central Puget Sound for decades.
The projects will build on enhancements we’ve completed in recent years that made the regional wastewater treatment system safer, more reliable, and more resilient to climate impacts.
Leading the transition to demolition to reduce waste generated at construction sites
Our Solid Waste Division is helping the local construction industry transition from the traditional demolition model to deconstruction, an approach that can reduce the amount of worksite material that ends up at Cedar Hills Regional Landfill by as much as 90%.
Studying the core of Lake Washington provides roadmap to confront newer health risks
Our scientists’ study of Lake Washington’s lakebed sediment dating back to the mid-1800s shows levels of PCBs, the once common and dangerous chemical are expected to fall below currently detectable levels within the next two decades. Researchers say the findings reaffirm the effectiveness of regulations and personal actions and offer a strategy for addressing emerging environmental threats, including stormwater pollution.
Transforming the iconic Wilburton Trestle for a new purpose: A 1,000-foot-long trail bridge for Eastrail
King County Parks this year began transforming the 1,000-foot-long Wilburton Trestle, adding it to Eastrail to offer skyline views of Bellevue and connections to other regional trails and Sound Transit’s Wilburton Station.
The iconic wooden railroad trestle is expected to be one of the most popular segments of the emerging 42-mile Eastrail, a former rail corridor that is being converted into an uninterrupted regional trail.
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