Cedar River - Lake Washington Watershed
The Cedar River - Lake Washington Watershed is the land area in which rainwater drains to Lake Washington and out through the Hiram Chittenden Locks. The Cedar River - Lake Washington watershed includes the Cedar River and its tributaries, May Creek, Coal Creek, Mercer Island, Mercer Slough, Kelsey Creek, Fairweather Creek, Yarrow Creek, Juanita Creek, Forbes Creek, Lyon Creek, McAleer Creek, Thornton Creek, and Ravenna Creek. The Sammamish River drainage is also part of the greater watershed, but is published on a separate page.
Introduction to Watersheds
Basin Steward Program Look up watershed experts to get answers to questions and help solve watershed related problems.
Community Service Centers Information about King County's satellite offices including the Black River community center in the Cedar River watershed at Renton. Office address is 900 Oaksdale Ave. S.W., Renton, WA 98055, phone number 206-296-7810. The Covington community service center is located at 27331 172nd Ave. SE, # 116, Covington, WA 98042, phone number 206-296-1387. The Northshore community service center is located at 10808 N.E. 145th St., Bothell, WA 98011, phone number 206-296-9840.
Flooding and Hydrology
Cedar River Flooding Information Look up real time gage data, flood stage info and learn what it means along the Cedar River.
Hydrologic Gage Data Map Look up detailed gaging station data for creeks and rivers in the region.
 Watch Video: Preventing flood disasters King County is at work this summer repairing levees RealPlayer needed to watch this video. Video length 22 minutes, 22 seconds.
Surface Water Management and Groundwater
Introduction to Watersheds
Ravenna Creek Wastewater Spill, May 2008 Fact sheet describes what happenned and why, the area affected, impacts to human and environmental health, and what King County and partners are doing to clean up the spill.
Introduction to Streams
Lake Washington Water Quality Data This page offers an overview of Lake Washington water quality issues and provides graphs of water quality data from several sampling locations on the lake, spanning several years. Graphs display temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, nitrogen, phosphorus, chlorophyll, bacteria, tranparency, and other data.
Lake Union Water Quality Information
Swimming Beach Surveys Find information about levels of bacterial pollution and relative human health risks at swimming beaches on Lake Washington, Lake Sammamish, and other King County lakes.
Streams Monitoring Program Keeping watch for pollution in greater Lake Washington streams. Water quality data are available online for:
Cedar River - Lake Washington Watershed Map Drainage map displaying streams, lakes, drainage divides, major roads and cities in the area that drains to Lake Washington and out the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, except for the Sammamish Watershed area. The map is in Acrobat format. File size is 445 Kb.
Lake Washington Existing Conditions Report - 2004
South King County Groundwater Management Area Learn about plans to protect the aquifer in the south county area including the Cedar River watershed localities of Renton, Black Diamond, Maple Valley, and areas in between.
Endocrine disrupting chemicals in the environment Learn about these natural and synthetic chemicals flushed daily into our 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.
Final Adopted May Creek Basin Action Plan This plan provides regulatory guidance, programs, and projects aimed to reduce the threat of flooding to citizens in the May Creek Basin, to make improvements to effectively handle stormflow while stabilizing stream banks and reducing erosion, to protect and enhance fish and wildlife habitat and water quality in the basin, and to take reasonable steps to prevent existing problems from worsening in the future. May Creek flows into Lake Washington.
The Lake Washington Story
Lower Cedar River Basin Plan Summary An overview of the issues and recommendations in the Basin Plan
Salmon & Trout Recovery
WRIA 8 Salmon Recovery Lake Washington, Cedar River, and Sammamish This site provides information about the recovery of threatened salmon species in the Sammamish, Lake Washington, and Cedar River drainage area including an overview of the planning process, scientific information, and meeting records. We welcome your participation.
- Final WRIA 8 Chinook Salmon Conservation Plan New
Cedar River, Sammamish, Lake Washington
- Final WRIA 8 Near-term Action Agenda for Salmon Habitat Conservation
Interim measures undertaken while multi-jurisdictional partners worked on thea long-term conservation plan for salmon habitat in the Lake Washington, Cedar River, and Sammamish watershed.
- Salmon recovery projects funded for WRIA 8
Over $4.8 million have been awarded to fund projects that preserve and recover salmon habitat, from the Washington State Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB) from 1999 through 2004.
- 2001 Salmon Spawning Surveys in Selected Tributaries of the Cedar River, Washington
Results of 2001 surveys that identified the distribution and abundance of spawning salmon in four major tributaries of the Cedar River-- Rock Creek, Peterson, Taylor, and Walsh Lake Creek.
Known Freshwater Distribution of Salmon and Trout Draft maps showing Chinook, Coho, Cutthroat Trout, Kokanee, Sockeye, and Steelhead Distribution in the greater Lake Washington watershed (WRIA 8), based on the collective personal knowledge of resource professionals and data gathered from published and unpublished databases.
Peterson Lake Natural Area Site Management Plan A plan guiding the future management of a 153-acre open space area on Peterson Lake near Maple Valley, protecting habitat for coho, sockeye and chinook salmon as well as steelhead and cuttroat trout.
Habitat Inventory and Assessment of Juanita Creek in 2000 A report on instream and riparian salmon habitat quality in Juanita Creek in the Kirkland area of north King County.
Fish and Wildlife Enhancement Project A capital improvement project to improve fish and wildlife habitat in Cedar River Wetland 79 near Maple Valley.
Wastewater Treatment
The Wastewater Treatment Division is planning major improvements to the sewage treatment system serving King and Snohomish Counties. The planned Brightwater project encompasses a new treatment plant, its associated conveyance pipes, and an outfall to Puget Sound. The treatment plant may be located in the Cedar River- Lake Washington watershed.
Juanita Bay Pump Station Replacement Project Details about a project to to increase wastewater handling capacity and ensure safe and reliable operation.

Recreation and Appreciation
Lake Shorelines, Life on the Edge Video Series (Windows Media format) New Watch a video that describes lakes in King County and how residents value them, with ideas that shoreline landowners may like to apply to help preserve the quality of lakes and lake ecosystems.
Cedar River Public Boating and Fishing Access Find parks, ecological natural areas and boat ramps to access the river for swimming, fishing and boating. Includes lands managed by the City of Renton, King County and City of Seattle.
King County Natural Areas:
Look up individual properties protected in King County's open space system for their ecological and working resource values. The natural lands site provides addresses, pictures, location maps and rules for public use:
Cedar River Trail The Cedar River Trail follows an old railroad right-of-way from downtown Renton to King County's Landsburg Park, alongside the scenic Cedar River. A branch of the trail connects with King County's Lake Wilderness Park and continues to Four Corners.
BNSF Eastside Rail Corridor Describes a King County effort to save a 47 mile rail corridor to turn into a trail for the public.
Boating on the Cedar River: review our flooding and habitat projects, and look at the boaters page for safety tips, boating signals, and other useful info.
Miscellaneous
Historic and Recent Aerial Photographs Aerial photos from the 1930's, 1970's and 1990's illustrating growth of Bellevue in the East Lake Washington basin and Fairwood in the Cedar River basin, among other areas in King County.
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