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By Olivia Wright

Prioritizing Watershed Protection in King County. By Olivia Wright. Objective. King County is approximately 1,400,805 acres and is covered by 8 watersheds. This study will assess the conditions of the watersheds to prioritize watershed protection in King County. Watershed Health Analysis.

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By Olivia Wright

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  1. Prioritizing Watershed Protection in King County By Olivia Wright

  2. Objective • King County is approximately 1,400,805 acres and is covered by 8 watersheds. • This study will assess the conditions of the watersheds to prioritize watershed protection in King County.

  3. Watershed Health Analysis • Watershed Area • 303d listed streams • Developed land use area • Wetlands and Public Parks

  4. Data • 2008 Washington Water Quality Assessment 303(d) listed streams • Washington 2006 land cover data • Washington State Seamless Wetlands Data from National Wetlands Inventory • Major Lakes in Washington State • Washington Rivers and Connecting Water Bodies • Watershed boundaries derived from terrain data • King County Boundary • Parks

  5. Watersheds In King County

  6. GIS Analysis Processes • Spatial Analysis: Extract by Mask, Convert Raster to Polygons • Selection Tools: Select by Attributes • Analysis Tools: Clip and Spatial Join • Other Tools: Join Tables, Export selected data, Calculate Geometry

  7. 303d Listed Streams • 303d listed streams are water bodies that violate water quality standards for one or more pollutant in accordance with the 1972 Clean Water Act. • The condition of the watersheds were ranked based on the percentage of 303d listed streams within their boundaries.

  8. Developed Land Use • Highly concentrated developed land use areas increase impervious surface and runoff into streams and have negative impacts on the health of watersheds. • The condition of the watersheds were ranked based on the percent of developed land use area within their boundaries.

  9. National Wetland Inventory and Public Parks • Wetlands in a watershed act as natural pollutant removal systems and will increase the health of a watershed. • Wetlands and public parks were also taken into consideration to determine the feasibility of restoration for watershed protection. They have the potential to cause challenges regarding permitting issues and increasing the cost of watershed restoration. • The condition of the watersheds were ranked based on the percent of wetland and park area within their boundaries.

  10. National Wetland Inventory and Public Parks

  11. Results • After ranking the watersheds in King County based on each parameter, an overall watershed prioritization was determined by summing the rankings established for the 303d streams, developed areas, and NWI and public parks. The overall ranking showed the Cedar River / Lake Washington watershed as having the highest need for restoration based on watershed health and restoration feasibility.

  12. References: • Washington State Geospatial Data Archive (WAGDA). http://wagda.lib.washington.edu/ • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Wetlands Inventory (NWI). http://www.fws.gov/wetlands/ • State of Washington Department of Ecology. http://www.ecy.wa.gov/ecyhome.html • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coastal Services Center. http://www.csc.noaa.gov/index.html

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