Salmon Watcher Training A Unique Northwest Experience

On Wednesday, September 29th, from 7:00 to 9:00 pm at the  Northgate Community Center, 10510  5th Ave. NE, Seattle Public Utilities and King County Department of the Environment will present a training course for would-be Salmon Watchers.

The Salmon Watcher Program trains volunteers to collect important information about returning salmon in creeks in and around Seattle. Dedicated volunteers spend 15 minutes twice a week, from September through December, watching for fish on their assigned creek site.

The information helps local jurisdictions know where salmon are spawning in our streams, and sometimes where barriers exist to salmon migration. Volunteers act as “eyes and ears” in the watersheds and give SPU a heads up when things go awry in our neighborhood creeks. No experience necessary. The data collected are used by agencies and groups working to help restore endangered salmon runs and improve habitat for all salmon. Your work as a Salmon Watcher is invaluable!  For more information check the “Salmon Watcher website” or call 206-263-6533

How can I become a Salmon Watcher?

Attend the classroom training to learn about salmon identification. Choose a place to watch from among hundreds of established creek sites in and around Seattle. No experience necessary.

For more information contact Beth Miller, Seattle Public Utilities, Stormwater Education and Outreach, 700 5th Avenue , or by email at beth.miller@seatttle.gov or visit the King County Restore Our Waters website at  www.seattle.gov/util/restoreourwaters.

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Please join your neighbors and other West Seattle residents for a community meeting to discuss Combined Sewer Overflow control alternatives and facility siting in the Murray Basin Monday, September 27, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Hall at Fauntleroy.

King County Wastewater Treatment Division has been working with the Murray Community Advisory Group (also known as the Murray CAG) this past summer to find possible locations within the basin to site a Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) facility. In fall of 2010, King County will decide on proposals for CSO control in the Barton and Murray areas. The decision made for a CSO control facility will have lasting impacts on your neighborhood or an adjacent neighborhood, so you are invited to attend a Murray CAG meeting to discuss the suggested alternatives.

You aree invited to attend this meeting to hear about the alternatives and to provide your comments. Time is running out before these alternatives are evaluated by King County and a decision is made, and this may be the last opportunity you will have to voice your opinion.

CSOs occur in older parts of King County’s wastewater system that carry both wastewater and stormwater to the treatment plant. When heavy rains fill the pipes, excess stormwater and sewage flow directly into local waterbodies. Historically, CSOs were designed into the system to avoid damage to facilities and sewer backups into homes and businesses and onto streets during storms.

Today, CSOs are a concern because untreated wastewater and stormwater may be discharged to Puget Sound during large storms posing risks to public health and the environment. To meet state regulations, King County’s goal is to reduce the number of CSOs each year, with a long-term goal of no more than one untreated discharge per location per year. These locations are top priority because people are most likely to come in contact with water during recreational activities such as swimming.

If you have questions about this meeting or the CSO Beach Projects in general, you can reach me by email at martha.tuttle@kingcounty.gov or by phone at 206-684-1207.

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