Science Seminars

Water and Land Resources Division

The Science Section sponsors semiannual, half day Science Seminars in which visiting lecturers and King County staff present recent findings from their environmental monitoring programs. The Science Seminar provides an opportunity for sharing information between staff and with the public, and also allows staff to gain public speaking experience in front of professional peers. Science Seminars are open to all interested environmental science professionals and the public. For more information about Science Seminars, please contact Kate O’Laughlin.

After each seminar, the presentation materials are made available below, typically as Acrobat PDF files.

Fall Science Seminar, 2019

Thursday, November 21, 2019, 8th Floor Conference Center, King Street Center
Hosted by the King County Science Section

Session I: Planning and Management Action

Moderator: Dave Funke. Session I: Planning and Management Action

Beyond the Crash–Evolving Lake Sammamish Kokanee Conservation Strategies - PDF
Jim Bower

WRIA 9 Marine Shoreline Monitoring and Compliance, Phase 2 - PDF
Kollin Higgins

In Search of a Unique Juvenile Salmon in the Snoqualmie River - PDF
Josh Kubo

News From Beaverworld: Policy, Project Planning, and Fish Passage - PDF
Jen Vanderhoof

King County’s Water Quality Benefits Evaluation (WQBE) - PDF
Carly Greyell

Session II: Indicators and Toxics

Moderator: Deb Lester. Session II: Indicators and Toxics

Step One In Restoring and Protecting Streams: Figuring out What to Fix - PDF
Beth Sosik

Bioretention Capture Efficacy of PCBs Over Time - PDF
Richard Jack

Contaminants in Artificial Turf Stormwater Runoff: Testing an Alternative to Crumb Rubber - PDF
Jenée Colton

Is Stormwater Harming Our Streams? Long-Term Metals - PDF
Daniel Nidzgorski

What’s Floating Amongst The Floaters? Investigating Fecal Bacteria on the Snoqualmie - PDF
Andrew Miller

Previous Seminars & Presentations

Fall Science Seminar, 2018

Session I: Climate Change Impacts and Freshwater Habitat

Moderator: Kollin Higgins

Habitat conditions in the lower Snoqualmie, Tolt, and Raging rivers - PDF
Josh Kubo

The Beaver Working Group: Purpose, progress, products, and potential projects - PDF
Jen Vanderhoof and Bailey Keeler

Juvenile Chinook use of non-natal tributaries in the lower Green River - PDF
Chris Gregersen

Impacts of rainfall projections designing king county stormwater facilities - PDF
Jeff Burkey

Using new regional climate model simulations to quantify changes in flooding in King County rivers - PDF
Curtis DeGasperi

Session II: Water Quality and Restoration

Moderator: Stephanie Jaeger

Feed the beach! Restoring and protecting marine shoreline habitat on Vashon Island - PDF
Greg Rabourn

Freshwater harmful algal blooms: What are they, are they getting worse, and what can we do? - PDF
Chris Knutson

Long-term trends in nutrient concentrations in Puget Sound - PDF
Ben Larson

Phytoplankton monitoring in Central Puget Sound: Do we see any trends? - PDF
Gabriela Hannach

Spatial comparison of PBTs in marine fish and invertebrates from King County waters - PDF
Rory O'Rourke

Closing Remarks

Dave White

Fall Science Seminar, 2017

Thursday, November 2, 2017, 8th Floor Conference Center, King Street Center
Sponsored by the Science Section, Water and Land Resources Division

Introduction

Dave White

Session I: Water Quality Monitoring

Moderator: Deb Bouchard

Monitoring Water Quality in Center Puget Sound During the West Point Treatment Plant Restoration - What Impacts Can We Assess - PDF
Stephanie Jaeger

Water Quality Status and Trends in Bear Creek - PDF
Tim Clark

Stormwater Action Monitoring: 2015 Puget Lowland Ecoregion Stream Status and Trends Study Findings - PDF
Curtis DeGasperi

Stormwater Retrofits for Treating Highway Runoff - Echo Lake - PDF
Carly Greyell

Stormwater Retrofits for Treating Highway Runoff - Federal Way - PDF
Kate Macneale

Session II: Biology and Habitat

Moderator: Jill Bower

If You Build It, They Will Come: Biological Colonization at the Brightwater Marine Outfall - PDF
Kim Stark

Outfall Construction: Disturbance and Recolonization of the Marine Benthic Community - PDF
Wendy Eash-Loucks

Marine Shoreline Development from 2005 to 2015 - Do We See No Net Loss of Intertidal Habitat in King County? - PDF
Alexis Henry

Non-lethal Beaver Management Techniques at Big Spring Creek Restoration Site - PDF
Ben Dittbrenner

Effects of Small Barriers on the Distribution of the Sculpins in Puget Sound Lowland Streams - PDF
Dan Lantz

Closing Remarks

Dave White

Fall Science Seminar, 2016

Monday, November 7, 2016, 8th Floor Conference Center, King Street Center

Introduction

Dave White

Session I: Fish and Habitat

Moderator: Scott Stolnack

Fish use of oxbow habitats in the Lower Snoqualmie Valley - PDF
Kollin Higgins

Juvenile Chinook habitat use in the Bear Creek Watershed - PDF
Josh Kubo

Rainbow Bend: Evidence that removing a levee and restoring the floodplain can replace a flood-prone mobile-home park with a refuge for salmon - PDF
Josh Latterell

Kokanee fry abundance monitoring informs supplementation adaptive management - PDF
Jim Bower

The effects of added large wood on the physical habitat and thermal conditions in the Upper Raging River - PDF
Kate Macneale

PCBs in fish ‒ method changes, challenges, and what it means for trends and management - PDF
Richard Jack

Session II: Climate Change

Moderator: Jamie Stroble

Overview of King County’s 2015 Strategic Climate Action Plan and progress to date - PDF
Matt Kuharic

Energy usage by King County and within King County: status and trends - PDF
David Broustis

Projected climate change impacts on rainfall patterns in King County - PDF
Guillaume Mauger

Developing a strategy for addressing sea level rise in King County - PDF
Jim Simmonds

Closing Remarks

Dave White

Fall Science Seminar, 2015

Thursday, November 5, 2015, 8th Floor Conference Center, King Street Center

Welcome

Dave White

Session 1: Water Quality Assessment

Moderator: Dean Wilson

The CSO water quality assessment and monitoring study
Dean Wilson

Current conditions and trends in Elliott Bay water and sediment quality - PDF
Wendy Eash-Loucks

Current conditions and trends in Lake Union water and sediment quality - PDF
Tim Clark

King County surface waters: contaminants of emerging concern survey - PDF
Richard Jack

Overview of King County’s CSO long-term control plan - PDF
John Phillips

Session 2: Water Quality Monitoring

Moderator: Jenée Colton

Canine and qPCR microbial source tracking in Juanita and Thornton creeks - PDF
Andrew Miller

Locating human sewage sources in a small urban stream using temperature/conductivity dataloggers - PDF
Jonathan Frodge

How dry (and warm) I am. Summer 2015 King County drought status reporting - PDF
Curtis DeGasperi

Is it elk, deer, cattle, human or what? Source tracking in Boise Creek's stormwater system - PDF
Jeanne Dorn

Lake Sammamish water quality response to land use change - PDF
Debra Bouchard

Closing Remarks

Dave White

Fall Science Seminar, 2014

Wednesday, November 5, 2014, 8th Floor Conference Center, King Street Center
Marine Studies and Future Planning

Welcome

Kate O’Laughlin and Jim Simmonds

Marine

Moderator: Deb Lester

Zooplankton monitoring in Puget Sound - PDF
Julie Keister

Going with the flow: assessing phytoplankton diversity with the FlowCAM - PDF
Amelia Kolb

Marine moorings in Elliott Bay: What you didn’t know you were missing - PDF
Wendy Eash-Loucks

Brightwater eelgrass restoration: the grass really is greener on the underside - PDF
Kim Stark

The WRIA 9 marine shoreline monitoring and compliance pilot project - PDF
Kollin Higgins

Future Planning

Moderator: Gino Lucchetti

Climate change and population growth impacts on stormwater management needs - PDF
Jeff Burkey

100-year approach for building stormwater facilities to restore stream flows and water quality - PDF
Olivia Wright

Channel evolution and habitat formation following the removal of the Rainbow Bend levee on the Cedar River - PDF
Josh Latterell

Duwamish Blueprint: Salmon habitat restoration in the Duwamish Transition Zone through 2025 - PDF
Elissa Ostergaard

Using B-IBI to identify Puget Sound watersheds for restoration and protection - PDF
Chris Gregersen

Closing Remarks

Kate O’Laughlin and Jim Simmonds

Fall Science Seminar, 2013

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Lower Duwamish Waterway Source Control Projects

Moderator: Jim Simmonds

Lower Duwamish Waterway Source Control Activities – 2010-2013 Dedicated Studies - PDF
Jeff Stern

Spatial and Temporal Differences in Atmospheric Deposition of Contaminants in the Green River Watershed - PDF
Jenée Colton

Surface Water Contaminants in the Green River and Major Tributaries - PDF
Deb Lester

Contaminants in Green River Basin Sediments - PDF
Carly Greyell

Sampling Suspended Solids in the Green River and Major Tributaries - PDF
Debra Williston

Sanitary vs. Stormwater Evaluations in the Brandon CSO Basin – A Pilot Study - PDF
Dean Wilson

Source Tracing – Lower Duwamish Waterway - PDF
Beth Schmoyer, City of Seattle

Additional Source Control Related Studies - PDF
Debra Williston

Cross Watershed Projects

Moderator: Jen Vanderhoof

Restoring Natural Processes in an Urban Watershed: Lessons from the Rainbow Bend Levee Removal Project - PDF
John Bethel

Determining the Source: Generating a Comprehensive Approach for Remediating Microbial Pollution in Rural Drainages - PDF
Ray Timm

Green River System-Wide Improvement Framework (SWIF) - PDF
Jennifer Knauer

Thermal Conditions for Lake Sammamish Kokanee - Historical and future projections - PDF
Curtis DeGasperi

Fall Science Seminar, 2012

Thursday, November 1, 2012,

8th Floor Conference Center, King Street Center

King County’s Microbial Source Tracking (MST)

Moderator: Sally Abella
Illicit Stormwater Connections Video

Microbial Source Tracking Pilot Projects, 2011-12 - PDF
Deb Bouchard and Dean Wilson
Slides

Investigating sources of bacterial contamination in Boise Creek - PDF
Ray Timm
Slides

Finding & Fixing Illicit Connections in White Center Pre-2009 to post-2012 - PDF
Jeanne Dorn
Slides

Bacteria Investigations in Thornton Creek - PDF
Jon Frodge, City of Seattle
Slides

Trace Organics in MST using Micro Extraction with LVI GC/MS - PDF
Mike Muramoto and Felix Zboralski
Slides

Habitat and Fish

Moderator: Kollin Higgins

Assessing King County’s development in FEMA Floodplains for compliance with the Endangered Species Act - PDF
Gino Lucchetti
Slides

Channel and Habitat Monitoring in the Countyline Reach of the Lower White River - PDF
Sarah McCarthy and Terry Butler
Slides

Stormwater Retrofit Analysis and Recommendations for Juanita Creek Basin - PDF
Jeff Burkey
Slides

Effects of watering, mulch, and fabric on tree survival: Results from controlled experiments at King County Restoration Sites - PDF
Josh Latterell
Slides

Puget Sound EPA Benthos Grant: Comparison of Sampling Methods and Updated Taxa Attributes - PDF
Deb Lester and Jo Wilhelm
Slides

Fall Science Seminar, 2010

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Rehab: Regional examination of harmful algal blooms, a thirty lake study - PDF
Beth Cullen

Habitat protection in the Snoqualmie watershed: Status, trends and food for thought - PDF
Janne Kaje

How low will they go? Trends in summer low flows in King County rivers and streams - PDF
Curtis DeGasperi

Native oyster rebuilding - PDF
Betsy Peabody

Evaluating the ecological performance of nearshore fish habitat enhancements at the Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle, WA - PDF
Sarah Heerhartz

Clues emerge in search to find cause of prespawn mortality in local coho - PDF
Jenée Colton

Rethinking rivers: (re)integrating channels and floodplains in fluvial ecosystems - PDF
Ray Timm

Determining feasibility of Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) for Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) control - PDF
Shaun O’Neil and Tiffany McClaskey

Long-term monitoring in lakes and streams
Deb Bouchard

A salmon-based classification for agricultural waterways
Gino Lucchetti

Spring Science Seminar, 2010

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Puget Sound Stormwater Monitoring Work Group Update - PDF
Jim Simmonds

Preliminary Results of NPDES Stormwater Permit Monitoring - PDF
Dean Wilson

A Fecal Pollution and Correction Program in Kitsap County - PDF
Mindy Fohn

Theo Foss Waterway Source Control Strategy - PDF
Dana de Leon

Storm Drain and Combined Sewer Overflow Source Evaluations in the Duwamish Waterway Drainage Basin - PDF
Debra Williston and Beth Schmoyer

Monitoring Salmon Recovery in WRIA 8 - PDF
Scott Stolnack

Status of King County Streams - PDF
Deb Lester

Framework and Status of Regulatory Effectiveness Monitoring - PDF
Gino Lucchetti

Development of a Monitoring Framework for the River and Floodplain Management Section - PDF
Sarah McCarthy

An Overview of the CIP Monitoring and Maintenance Program’s Approach to Monitoring – Past and Present - PDF
Dan Eastman

Salmon, Ecology, and Land Use and Puget Sound Water Quality, 2009

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Current efforts to restore kokanee salmon in the Lake Sammamish Basin. - PDF
Hans Berge

Developing a multi-scale, spatially explicit estimator of the impacts of land cover change on aquatic resources. - PDF
Ray Timm

Developing the historical context for understanding present day land use-water quality relationships. - PDF
Julia Michalak

Role of large wood in modified rivers. - PDF
Dr. Josh Latterell

Urbanization, Terrestrial Vegetation Structure and the Carbon Cycle: Results from the Seattle Region - PDF
Dr. Lucy Hutyra.
Only the cover page of Dr. Hutyra's talk is presented here. Because the data that is the subject of her talk is currently in review, her presentation is not yet available to the public.

Alexandrium catenella cyst distribution in Puget Sound with a focus on Quartermaster Harbor. - PDF
Dr. Cheryl Greengrove

Continuous water quality monitoring in Puget Sound: methods and results. - PDF
Bob Kruger

Combined sewer overflow treatment technology evaluation - PDF
Bob Bucher

Development of the South Puget Sound hydrodynamic model and application to deriving residence times for inlets. - PDF
Skip Albertson

Implementing an ambient phytoplankton monitoring program in Puget Sound Central Basin. - PDF
Dr. Gabriela Hannach