DESCRIPTION
This proposal is for final design of the project. King County previously secured conceptual design funds through PSAR in 2021. The goal is to complete final designs for a future restoration project that re-connects the river to its floodplain and re-establishes more natural edge habitat (slow water, backwater, side channel) to benefit Chinook, coho, and steelhead trout.
The design will restore riverine processes and function in order to improve the quality, quantity, and sustainability of salmonid spawning, rearing, and refuge habitat.
King County Water and Land Resources Division (WLRD) will prepare final design documents for a floodplain reconnection and salmon habitat restoration project on the left bank lower Cedar River near the Mouth of Taylor Creek reach (RM 13.1-13.5). The future restoration project will reconnect up to 16 acres of the Cedar River floodplain and remove up to 600 feet of the Rutledge Johnson levee, with the goal of restoring riverine processes that benefit Chinook, coho, and steelhead trout. Products will include secured permits, public outreach, stakeholder coordination, design reports, and a construction bid package that contains plans, specifications, and cost estimate based on appropriate engineering and environmental analyses. This project was awarded 2020 funding from PSAR and WRIA 8 Cooperative Watershed Management grants for Conceptual Design (30%). Design will focus on improving in-stream and off-channel salmon habitat and function by increasing channel complexity, creating more diverse flow conditions, and facilitating more direct connections to floodplain habitats. Under existing conditions, juvenile salmonid habitat is largely confined to the mainstem river through the project area, which severely limits rearing and refuge for Chinook and other species.