Update on Culvert Replacement on Thornton Creek

Chuck Dolan of Thornton Creek Alliance sends this report on TC Park #2 Culvert replacement by SPU (Seattle Public Utilities) at NE 105th.

New Culvert "flying into place" on Thornton Creek at 105th NE

Greetings,

Here a photo of the initial culvert piece installed at NE 105 St.  The photo is unfortunately very low resolution, cheap cell phone on low setting.  Also attached (I hope) is a photo of the creek returned to its newly restored bed including tons (literally) of LWD.

Large Woody Debris added as "structure" to creek channel as culvert is replaced

The house and fence removal at 8th Av NE and NE 105th St looks GREAT!  I visited Beaver Pond a day or so have the concern was expressed about the beaver dams upstream of 105 and saw they have been removed tastefully.  Also the water level of Beaver Pond was down a bit but looked appropriate as the beaver deceiver was visible and functioning i.e. not plugged.  Thanks to whom it may concern!

(Additional late breaking update:
I was premature on beaver pond water level.  With the nearly 2" of rain Friday and Saturday the (beaver) deceiver must have become plug as it is now out of sight under water.  Also downstream at what I think is one of the new dams, a large willow has fallen over. It's crown is in parking lot of the apartment building and diverted the stream a bit to the south in a new channel. When I was by Sunday afternoon there was a chainsaw sitting out by the willow but no one immediately around and no cuts on willow crown.)

Chuck

Anniversary of Two Eruptions that Rocked the Region

Legal Victory at Northgate Ten Years Ago Today

Last June Supporters of Thornton Creek Celebrated at Thornton Place

L to R - Lauren Barber, Llyn Doremus, Lisa Dekker, Janet Way, Bob Vreeland, Pat Sumption,

Knoll Lowney, Clmbr Richard Conlin, Michael Brokaw, Cheryl Klinker, Gloria Butts, Jan Brucker,

Pam Johnson, and John and Summer Lombard (and hundreds more not pictured including the intrepid Molly Burke and brilliant designer Peg Gaynor)

May 18th 2000, was a day that rocked Seattle in the region because the Thornton Creek Legal Defense Fund and supporters won in Superior Court, against the largest mall owner on earth and changed the face of Northgate.  The legal victory that day eventually made it possible to get all the parties to work together to Daylight Thornton Creek at the South Parking Lot at Northgate. Hundreds of supporters worked tirelessly on the campaign to Daylight Thornton Creek against all odds. 

Peg Staehli and Peg Gaynor - Designers

Our brilliant attorney Knoll Lowney (Smith & Lowney) was able to pull every possible idea out of a hat to bring about the ultimate solution. We would not have been successful without the wonderful partnerships we developed with many groups including Citizens for a Livable Northgate, Maple Leaf Community Council and the four other Northgate Neighborhoods (Victory Heights, Haller Lake, Licton Springs, Pinehurst) Cascade Chapter of Sierra Club, Washington Conservation Voters, Seattle City Council, Northgate Stakeholders, Northgate Chamber and many, many more. 

Now the creek runs free thanks to a visionary developer, Bruce Lorig and Seattle Public Utilities and Mayor Greg Nickels who really did come through. The salmon can now come back!

Thornton Creek Flows Free Again - June 19, 2009

Thornton Place and Thornton Creek Water Quality Channel

And

Mt Saint Helens Eruption

Photo Credit - USGS

Mike Doukas

Mt St Helens Eruption 1980

May 18th is the 30th Anniversary of the Eruption of Mt St Helens

COUNTDOWN TO THE MT. ST. HELENS ERUPTION: THE SUSPENSE!

Story from Discovery News - Earth News

On the morning of May 18, Mt. St. Helens finally exploded, more powerfully than any expected. Fifty-seven people were killed in the blast, which registered a magnitude 5 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index. Johnston was never seen or heard from again.

It was one of the most significant eruptions of the 20th century, both for what we learned scientifically, and because it brought the awesome power of a volcanic eruption into the living rooms of everyone in America for the first time.

Thirty years later, it's worth going back for a second look.

In Memory of Geologist Dave Johnson who lost his life monitoring the eruption of Mt St Helens.

Let the City buy you a rain garden

Here is a program that Shoreline should be emulating. Incentives for gardeners to install "Rain gardens". What a great idea!

by GARY CHITTIM / KING 5 News

Posted on February 11, 2010 at 5:30 PM

Updated yesterday at 5:30 PM

******

SEATTLE - During extremely heavy rains, parts of Seattle's older sewer system overflow sends untreated human sewage into Puget Sound or nearby lakes. The Federal Government ordered Seattle to fix its aging Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) system, and if you want to help out, there may be some money in it for you.

"Install a rain garden or cistern, and we will give you a rebate for 80 to 100 percent of the purchase price," said Bob Spencer, Director of Seattle Public Utilities' Residential RainWise Program.

The round, oval, or kidney-shaped gardens only need to be about 6 feet across and about 1 foot deep. They drain too quickly for mosquitoes, other bugs or germs to breed, but slow enough to give the older sewers a break during heavy rains.

They require specific soils, gravel and native plants and in time grow over into a pleasant and functional landscape feature. The test program which will be officially announced in a few weeks is

currently available only to some Ballard residents.

You can plug your address into a program on the City's RainWise Web site

at https://rainwise.seattle.gov to see if you qualify and get advice on how to construct your own rain garden.

Video Photo Credit - KING 5 News and SPU