Prioritizing Watershed Protection in King CountyBy: Olivia Wright

Ced

a r River

G reen River

White River

Tye River

Yakima Rive r

Middle Fork Snoqualmie River

Be

ckle

r R

iver

Rapid R iver

Cle

Elu

m R

iver

Pra

tt R

iver

Carbo

n R

ive r

R

ex River

Tol t R

iver

Greenwater River

Raging River

North Fork Tolt River

No

rth

Fo

rk S

noqualmie River

Clearwater Rive

r

South Fork Snoqualm ie River

Sammamish Riv e

r

Little Naches River

Taylor River

Waptus River

Wes

t F

ork

Whi

te

Riv

er

N Fork Green R

East Fork Foss R

iver

Foss R

iver

Cooper R

iver

South Fork Tolt River

Miller R

iver

Kac

hes

s R

ive

r

Wh

ite

Riv

er

Ya ki m

a Ri ver

Cle Elum

River

Wh

ite R

iver

Cedar River

G

reen Rive

r

Cle Elum R

i verWhite River

Skykomish

Snoqualmie River

White River

Duwamish - Green River

Sammamish River

Cedar River / Lake Washington

Carbon River

Puyallup River

Clover

Chambers

Nisqually River

Peninsula

Central Puget Sound

Snohomish

Central Puget Sound

Central Puget Sound

Puyallup River

Peninsula

Central Puget Sound

King County 303d Listed Streams

/Legend

303d Listed Streams

Rivers

Lakes

Watersheds

King County0 3 6 9 121.5

Miles

Skykomish

Snoqualmie River

White River

Duwamish - Green River

Sammamish River

Cedar River / Lake Washington

Clover

Puyallup River

Carbon River

Chambers

Snohomish

Peninsula

Central Puget SoundCentral Puget Sound

Central Puget Sound

Nisqually River

Puyallup River

Peninsula

Nisqually River

C edar River

Green River

W hite River

Tye R iver

Wallace River

Bec

kl e r Rive

r

Mi ddle Fork Snoq ualmie River

Rapid River

Yakima River

Cle

Elu

m R

ive

r

Prat t R

iver

R

ex River

Tol t R

iver

Greenwater River

Rag

ing River

North Fork Tolt River

No

rth

Fork Snoqualmie River

South Fork Snoqualmie River

Taylor River

Waptus River

N Fork Green R

East Fork Foss River

Foss R

i ve

r

Cooper R

iver

South Fork Tolt River

Miller R

iver

Kac

hes

s R

ive

r

G

reen Rive

r

Ce dar River

South Fork Tolt River

Cle Elum

River

Wh

i te R iver

White R iver

Yakim

a Riv er

King County Parks and National Wetland Inventory

/

Legend

NWI

Public Parks

Rivers

Lakes

Watersheds

King County0 3 6 9 121.5Miles

Ced

a r River

G reen River

White River

Tye River

Yakima Rive r

Middle Fork Snoq ualmie River

Be

ckle

r R

ive

r

Rapid R iver

Cle

Elu

m R

iver

Pra

tt R

iver

Carbo

n R

ive r

R

ex River

Tol t R

iver

Greenwa ter River

Raging River

North Fork Tolt River

No

rth

Fo

rk S

noqualmie River

Clearwater Rive

r

South Fork Snoqualm ie River

Sammamish Riv e

r

Little Naches River

Taylor River

Waptus River

Wes

t F

ork

Whi

te

Riv

er

N Fork Green R

East Fork Foss R

iver

Foss R

iver

Cooper R

iver

South Fork Tolt River

Miller R

iver

Kac

hes

s R

ive

r

Wh

ite

Riv

er

Ya ki m

a Ri ver

Cle Elum

River

Wh

ite R

iver

Cedar River

G

reen Rive

r

Cle Elum R

i verWhite River

Skykomish

Snoqualmie River

White River

Duwamish - Green River

Sammamish River

Cedar River / Lake Washington

Carbon River

Puyallup River

Clover

Chambers

Nisqually River

Peninsula

Central Puget Sound

Snohomish

Central Puget Sound

Central Puget Sound

Puyallup River

Peninsula

Central Puget Sound

King County Developed Areas

/Legend

Developed Area

Rivers

Lakes

Watersheds

King County0 3 6 9 121.5Miles

Objective: The purpose of this project is to assess the conditions of the watersheds in King County and evaluate which watershed should have the highest priority for protection. The study used GIS analysis of 303d listed streams, National Wetland Inventory (NWI) and public park coverage, and developed land use to rank the conditions of King County’s watersheds, with the value of 1 signifying the greatest concern and 8 as the lowest. The analysis also took into account the feasibility of restoration in the watershed by looking at the percentage of wetlands and public parks within the boundaries that may cause permitting issues and potentially increase the cost of watershed restoration.

Results: The table shows the results of the analysis. The parameters were ranked based on the percent of coverage in each watershed, taking into account watershed health and watershed restoration feasibility. By summing the rankings of the parameters by watershed, the Cedar River/Lake Washington Watershed is determined to have the highest priority for watershed protection and potential restoration due to the health of the watershed and the amount of wetlands within its boundaries.

Watershed NameWatershed

Area (acres)303d Stream Area (acres)

Percent 303d Streams

303d Ranking

Developed Area

(acres)

Percent Developed

Developed Ranking

NWI and Park Area (acres)

Percent Park and NWI

Park and NWI

Ranking

Sum of Rankings

FinalWatershed

Prioritization

Cedar River / Lake Washington

234,206.79 8,458.28 3.61% 1 60,228.99 25.72% 3 18,159.10 7.75% 4 8 1

Duwamish - Green River

314,223.32 8,394.99 2.67% 3 51,741.37 16.47% 5 15,085.26 4.80% 1 9 2

Central Puget Sound

59,006.73 1,721.65 2.92% 2 18,490.54 31.34% 2 7,055.97 11.96% 6 10 3

Puyallup River 8,178.21 51.19 0.63% 5 3,305.22 40.42% 1 659.12 8.06% 5 11 4

Sammamish River 108,448.83 1,437.96 1.33% 4 26,803.07 24.71% 4 16,965.19 15.64% 7 15 5

White River 76,657.65 147.55 0.19% 7 3,980.31 5.19% 6 4,077.81 5.32% 2 15 6

Snoqualmie River 426,818.36 979.36 0.23% 6 13,110.78 3.07% 7 27,704.30 6.49% 3 16 7

Skykomish 173,264.58 260.97 0.15% 8 1,892.30 1.09% 8 149,486.52 86.28% 8 24 8