Monitoring Information:
How Are Miller and Walker Creeks Doing?

This Web page provides information on the condition of Miller and Walker Creeks.  

Monitoring Workshop #3: Thursday, December 4, 7 - 9 p.m., Burien

Watershed citizens have been invited to participate in a series of workshops this fall to discuss how we monitor the ecological health of the Miller/Walker Creek basins. 

Workshop #3 will occur Thursday, December 4, 7 - 9 p.m., Educational Resource and Administrative Center, 15675 Ambaum Blvd. S.W., Burien. 

Workshop #3 will build on the work done at Workshop #1 and #2.  

Workshop #1 occurred on September 24.   Materials for and from the first workshop included:

• Adopted Agenda: Workshop #1 (MS Word file)

• Nature, Purpose, Membership and Adopted Groundrules of Ad Hoc Committee for Basin Monitoring Coordination (MS Word file)

• Table of Water Quality/Quantity Parameters Monitored to Date (MS Word file)

• Overview of Stream Health and Recent Monitoring Results (MS Word file)

The approved summary of Workshop #1 is available (MS Word file).  This summary includes input received from people after the workshop as well.  View the stream blog entry and photos of Workshop #1.

Workshop #2 occurred on October 29.   View the stream blog entry and photo of Workshop #2.  Materials for the second workshop included:

• Adopted Agenda: Workshop #2 (MS Word file)

• Monitoring Questions/Answers Grouped by Topic (MS Word file)

• Table: What flow-related issues are we concerned about in the Miller Creek and Walker Creek basins? (MS Word file)

• Table: What water quality-related issues are we concerned about in the Miller Creek and Walker Creek basins? (MS Word file

• Table: What habitat-related issues are we concerned about in the Miller Creek and Walker Creek basins? (MS Word file)

The workshops are sponsored by the basin partners: the City of Burien, City of Normandy Park, City of SeaTac, King County, and the Port of Seattle.

Monitoring to date includes:

Water Quantity (Hydrology or Flow)

Stream Gage Information
There are five active gages and additional inactive gages that record flow in Miller and Walker Creeks. At the King County website, type in the number "42" to list all gages on Miller and Walker Creeks. This Web site will allow you to display information in graph form to illustrate the dramatic peaks of stormwater runoff.

Hydrologic Modeling
While not a source of current data from the stream, this page provides background on how land uses affect flow in the streams by influencing the volume of stormwater runoff.

Water Quality

Miller Creek Water Quality Information - Department of Ecology

Habitat Quality

Miller and Walker Creeks Basin Plan - Appendix C: Habitat Characteristics and Identified Problems of Miller and Walker Creeks (Adobe Acrobat 4.6 MB)
This appendix to the Miller and Walker Creeks Basin Plan uses multiple information sources to characterize stream reaches and summarize habitat conditions/problems in each.

Wild Fish Conservancy Stream Typing
Wild Fish Conservancy (formerly Washington Trout) conducted stream typing surveys on Miller/Walker Creeks in 2003. These surveys categorized reaches of the stream based on size, access, and/or fish presence. Photos and reports characterize habitat conditions.

Report on King County Noxious Weed Control Efforts in Miller and Walker Creek Basins  (Adobe Acrobat 1 MB) 
Noxious weeds play a big role in the ecology of the stream by altering the riparian (streamside) vegetation, which provides habitat for fish in the stream itself.  This November 2008 report summarizes several years of control work carried out by the King County Noxious Weeds Control Program under contract to the Port of Seattle.  In addition to describing the control work, the report summarizes and shows on maps where weed infestations are located.

Fish Use

Stream Blog

Wild Fish Conservancy Stream Typing
Wild Fish Conservancy (formerly Washington Trout) conducted stream typing surveys on Miller/Walker Creeks in 2003. These surveys categorized reaches of the stream based on size, access, and/or fish presence. There are many photos of fish found in Miller and Walker Creeks.

Stewardship of the Miller/Walker Creeks basin is jointly funded by the City of Burien, City of Normandy Park, City of SeaTac, King County, and the Port of Seattle. On behalf of the partners, this page is proudly hosted by King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks - Water and Land Resources Division.