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 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.

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
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.

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:

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.