Committee backs interlocal agreements for Chinook salmon recovery in WRIA 8 and WRIA 9

The Parks, Public Utilities and Technology Committee on June 25 recommended passage of council bill 121002, authorizing Seattle Public Utilities’ general manager to enter two interlocal agreements to support regional implementation of Chinook salmon conservation plans in Water Resource Inventory Area (WRIA) 8 (Lake Washington–Cedar–Sammamish) and WRIA 9 (Green–Duwamish and Central Puget Sound).

Martha Newman, Seattle Public Utilities government relations and legislative affairs, said the agreements would continue Seattle’s long participation in regional cooperative structures established after Chinook were listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act in 1999. The interlocal agreements provide governance, an annual work plan and budget, technical coordination and a cost‑share funding mechanism to support capital habitat projects, monitoring and adaptive management across jurisdictions.

Newman said WRIA 8’s annual budget is about $760,000 and Seattle’s 2025 contribution is approximately $193,716; WRIA 9’s annual budget was reported as approximately $606,781 with a Seattle contribution cited during the presentation. Staff noted that the watersheds rely on grants—state, federal and local—and that the watershed councils evaluate and award funding to priority habitat projects. Martha Newman and King County speakers highlighted past investments including millions in grants and large restoration projects (for example, the Royal Arch floodplain restoration on the Cedar River and beach reconfiguration at Lohman Beach).

Jason Mulvihill‑Kunz, salmon recovery manager for the Lake Washington–Cedar–Sammamish watershed, and King County partners underscored that salmon recovery is a regional problem requiring regional solutions; projects cross jurisdictional boundaries and benefit from coordinated planning and pooled funding. King County staff said Seattle has been a long‑standing, major partner in the regional effort.

Council member Teresa Rivera, Seattle’s appointed representative on the WRIA 8 Salmon Recovery Council, spoke in support and urged continued investment and coordination with tribal partners. The committee recorded a roll call of Council member Alex Kettle: Aye; Council member Teresa Rivera: Aye; Chair Joy Hollingsworth: Aye (3 in favor, none opposed); the committee’s recommendation to pass council bill 121002 will be transmitted to the full Council on July 1, 2025.

Seattle staff noted that the city contribution to the interlocal agreements comes from Seattle Public Utilities funds (water fund and drainage/wastewater fund), not the general fund. The interlocal agreements authorize participation through 2026–2035 and continue the region’s existing structures that have been in place since the early 2000s when cooperative salmon work began.

The presentation included aggregate figures staff reported as prior grants and leveraged investments; staff noted that specific project awards and technical priorities are reviewed annually by the watershed councils and updated through adaptive management.