Kenmore project manager outlines stormwater upgrades, Muck Creek restoration and homeowner steps
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Summary
Kenmore surface water project manager Andrew Sylvia described the city’s Kenmore Lane stormwater retrofit, Muck Creek Mitigation and community actions to reduce runoff in a Let’s Talk Kenmore podcast. He emphasized planned design work, pollutant-removal features and volunteer opportunities.
Andrew Sylvia, Kenmore’s surface water capital improvement project manager, told the Let’s Talk Kenmore podcast that the city is designing a retrofit of an aging stormwater facility on Kenmore Lane and pursuing stream restoration on Muck Creek to reduce flooding and pollution.
Sylvia said the Kenmore Lane facility — “actually the oldest stormwater facility in the city,” built in the 1970s — currently uses an underground detention tank and lacks contemporary pollutant-treatment components. “We’re going to build a larger tank” and add a bioretention basin, he said, explaining that the basin’s soils and plant roots help filter contaminants before water reaches nearby creeks. He told listeners the project is in design and the city is “hoping to build it this summer.”
The project team plans to use a bioretention system — often called a rain garden — to reduce pollutants that research has linked to salmon declines. Sylvia noted work at the University of Washington that identified a tire preservative especially harmful to coho salmon and said newer bioretention soils and designs can help remove that compound and other urban pollutants.
Sylvia also described the Muck Creek Mitigation project, funded as compensatory work after the city’s pedestrian and bicycle improvements on 68th Ave required enclosing a roadside stream. To restore function and habitat, the city purchased an adjacent parcel and relocated a straightened channel into a meandering alignment near 73rd Ave, installing large woody material such as tree trunks and root wads to recreate natural stream features. “You can see this all perfectly well from the sidewalk,” he said, giving the nearby address as 18707 73rd Ave.
He said the restoration both improves fish habitat (Muck Creek ties close to Swamp Creek and the broader salmon migration network) and increases flood storage on a formerly flood-prone parcel. “That project accomplished lots of other things too,” he said, noting it was a modest city investment that produced multiple benefits for wildlife and nearby residents.
On everyday actions, Sylvia urged residents to reduce stormwater pollution by picking up dog waste, using commercial car washes or washing cars on grass so soapy water soaks into soil, and keeping tires properly inflated to cut tire-wear particles. He described rain barrels and the city’s adopt-a-drain program as simple, local steps residents can take, and highlighted volunteer stream-restoration events organized by the Snow King Watershed Council.
Sylvia encouraged property owners near streams who are considering selling to contact city staff or his boss, Richard Sawyer, saying the city sometimes has grant funding and can appraise and buy parcels for conservation when appropriate. He directed listeners to the city employee directory for contact details.
The podcast closed with Sylvia thanking the community and the host Amber Clifton. Sylvia said he welcomes questions about the projects and outreach resources.
The Kenmore Lane retrofit remains in design; construction timing was reported as a target for the coming summer, and more specific schedules and technical details will be provided by the city as design is finalized.
