Cherry Creek is an east-to-west oriented stream that enters the Snoqualmie River just north of Duvall, approximately seven miles upstream of the river’s confluence with the Skykomish River near Monroe. The sub-basin spans the border between King and Snohomish Counties, with roughly 70% of basin area in King County. Just under 3% of the sub-basin lies within the City of Duvall. Map 11 (left frame) shows the land use classifications for the sub-basin with data from both King and Snohomish counties. Some of the data has been generalized to reduce the number of categories displayed on the map.

The sub-basin features three primary types of land use: agriculture in the lower valley bottom, rural residential areas that flank the agricultural land and extend further upstream into the basin, and forestry in the headwater areas. The headwaters of Margaret Creek, a significant tributary, drain forested areas within Snohomish County before entering rural residential areas around Lake Margaret, a 53-acre lake on the King County side of the border that serves as a domestic water supply for lake area residents. The creek discharges from the lake and eventually joins Cherry Creek.

During high-flow conditions in the Snoqualmie River, Cherry Valley experiences flooding that extends well upstream from the river confluence. The designated Agricultural Production District (APD) within Cherry Valley coincides closely with the mapped 100-year floodplain of the Snoqualmie River which extends roughly two miles into the Cherry Creek sub-basin.

Five species of anadromous salmonids have been documented in Cherry Creek, including Chinook, coho, pink and chum salmon, as well as steelhead. Coho salmon and winter steelhead are known to spawn in the upper portions of Cherry Creek, while the other species tend to utilize the lower portions of the sub-basin for spawning and rearing. In the Snohomish River Basin Salmon Conservation Plan, Cherry Creek is classified as a “Rural Stream – Primary Restoration” sub-basin that offers moderate potential use by Chinook salmon and a high level of use by coho salmon (Snohomish River Basin Salmonid Recovery Technical Committee, 2005). Along with the West Fork of Woods Creek (a tributary to the Skykomish River near Monroe), Cherry Creek is thought to provide the highest potential to support Chinook salmon among lowland tributaries in the broader Snohomish Basin, but habitat condition needs to be improved substantially.

Like many tributaries in agricultural areas, extensive portions of Cherry Creek within the valley have been straightened, rerouted and diked to benefit agriculture. In addition, a network of drainage channels traverses the floodplain, some transporting flow from smaller tributaries and others draining fields before joining Cherry Creek. Cherry Creek’s floodplain water levels are also regulated by a pump station at the downstream terminus of Lateral A, one of the primary drainage channels within the floodplain.

Source: Kaye, J., 2009. Snoqualmie Watershed Water Quality Synthesis Report. Prepared for the Snoqualmie Watershed Forum. King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks, Water and Land Resources Division. 180 p.