Drafter
Clerk 08/21/2026
title
AN ORDINANCE approving the grant funding allocation for the projects funded through the WaterWorks grant program, for the 2025-26-27 cycle, in accordance with the 2026-2027 Biennial Budget Ordinance, Ordinance 20023, Section 115, as amended, and the 2025 Budget Ordinance, Ordinance 19861, Section 114, as amended, and Ordinance 18031, Section 1, as amended.
body
STATEMENT OF FACTS:
1. Ordinance 18031, Section 1, as amended by Ordinance 18261, Section 1, established the grant award criteria and process for the WaterWorks grant program in accordance with the 2015-2016 Biennial Budget Ordinance, Ordinance 17941, Section 110, Proviso P2.
2. The 2025 Budget Ordinance, Ordinance 19861, Section 114, as amended by Ordinance 19956, Section 59, appropriated funding for the WaterWorks grant program.
3. The 2026-2027 Biennial Budget Ordinance, Ordinance 20023, Section 115, as amended by Ordinance 20086, Section 91, appropriated funding for the WaterWorks grant program.
4. Attachment A to Ordinance 18261 contains the implementation guidelines for the WaterWorks grant program, including the project criteria, eligibility, project selection process and administration of grants. The implementation guidelines provide for a grant ranking committee to review, rank and recommend projects for funding and for the wastewater treatment division of the department of natural resources and parks to administer and staff the program.
5. As described in Attachment A to Ordinance 18261, projects approved for funding must meet eligibility criteria for water quality improvements, and the grant ranking committee is to review, rank, and recommend to the King County executive the projects to be approved for funding, based upon the eligibility criteria and ability of the applicants to demonstrate water quality benefits and implementation strength.
6. The grant ranking committee convened thirteen times to review and rank grant proposals and has recommended funding for the projects listed in section 1 of this ordinance, based upon the eligibility criteria, water quality benefits, and implementation strength.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. The King County Council authorizes the funding of WaterWorks projects for the 2025-2026-2027 cycle, totaling $4,380,340, as follows:
A. City of Renton: $200,000 for "Cleveland-Richardson Park Water Quality Habitat Renewal";
B. Schmitz Park Restore: $20,000 for "Schmitz Park Restore Cleanup and Public Education";
C. Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides: $45,000 for "Cultivating Clean Water with Spanish-Speaking Landscapers in King County 2";
D. EarthCorps: $183,250 for "Thornton Creek Alliance Noxious Weed Knockout";
E. ECOSS: $105,126 for "Expansion of Household Hazardous Waste Program with Immigrant Youth Water Stewards 3";
F. Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association: $150,630 for "Longfellow Creek Stewardship and Community Science Program";
G. Nature Vision: $27,087 for "Youth Watershed Education, Stewardship, and Community Science 4";
H. Three Rivers Chapter of Trout Unlimited: $10,000 for "Engaging Community to Help Restore a Native Lake Washington Salmon Population 2";
I. City of Kirkland: $36,203 for "Juanita Creek Riparian Restoration in Edith Moulton Park";
J. Weed Warriors: $10,000 for "Myers Way Wetland Restoration";
K. Mid Sound Fisheries Enhancement Group: $159,871 for "Salmon in Schools & Stewardship 2";
L. University of Washington Bothell: $84,240 for "Development of Advanced E. coli DNA Toolkit for Fecal Source Tracking in Bothell Streams 2";
M. Whale Scout: $9,732 for "Student and Community-led Sammamish River Trail Buffer Restoration 2";
N. University of Washington: $198,500 for "Increasing Biodiversity & Sustainability in King County Wetlands with Seed-Based Restoration";
O. Washington State University: $199,922 for "The Role of Road-side Ditches and Wet Ponds in Managing Stormwater Contaminants";
P. Whale Scout: $141,325 for "Community-led Riparian Restoration of the Former Wayne Golf Course";
Q. Whale Scout: $155,768 for "Student and Community-led Restoration of Perry Creek at Cedar Grove Park in Bothell (Phase 1)";
R. Mid Sound Fisheries Enhancement Group: $199,953 for "Salmon Friendly Yards (Bear and Soos Creeks 2.0)";
S. Villa Comunitaria: $113,890 for "Futuro del Agua: Family and Youth Water Career Pathways 2";
T. GreenShower Collective: $77,550 for "Mandarin Water Stewardship Toolkit: Source Control & Resilience";
U. City of Tukwila: $180,000 for "Duwamish Hill Preserve Phase III";
V. Sacred Land Collective: $150,000 for "Restoring Waterways: Newaukum Creek and Pond Habitat Project";
W. Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust: $155,490 for "Greenway Education Program";
X. Salmon-Safe: $181,845 for "Reading to Rivers - Clean Water for the King County Library System";
Y. Vashon Nature Center: $125,000 for "Water Quality Education and Monitoring on Vashon Island";
Z. Friends of the Salish Sea: $15,730 for "Expanding Community Stormwater Monitoring and Stewardship in the City of Shoreline";
AA. Mother Africa: $176,763 for "Clean Water 4 All 3";
BB. City of Shoreline: $200,000 for "Sunset School Park Greenification: Construction Phase";
CC. YMCA of Greater Seattle: $45,000 for "Youth in Action: Stewardship, Education & Leadership 2025-2027 2";
DD. Mini Mart City Park: $100,000 for "Green Stormwater Infrastructure & Youth Training at MMCP (2026-2027)";
EE. Environmental Science Center: $95,000 for "Environmental Heroes: Community-focused Water Quality Programming";
FF. University of Washington Bothell: $96,000 for "Floating Wetland Ecosystem with Media for Phosphorus Removal";
GG. United Indians of All Tribes: $175,000 for "Lake Union Pocket Forests";
HH. Washington State University Extension King County: $123,446 for "Griot Garden: Roots to Rain";
II. Seattle Parks Foundation, with Corvias Infrastructure Solutions: $50,526 for "Embrace the Rain: Community Stormwater Solutions for the Central District";
JJ. Seattle Parks Foundation, with Dirt Corps: $99,900 for "Point Rediscovery/ Hamm Creek Water Quality Improvement through Community Education and Paid Training";
KK. The Common Acre: $50,000 for "Native-Led Community Land and Water Stewardship in Rainier Beach, Seattle";
LL. Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery: $66,420 for "Canopy to Curb Salmon-Friendly Neighborhoods in Issaquah Education and Outreach";
MM. Estelita's Library: $40,000 for "Estelita's Rain Garden & Greywater Resilience Project";
NN. Friends of Cottage Lake: $50,000 for "Cottage Lake Water Quality Improvement: A Headwaters Approach to a Healthier Bear Creek Watershed 2"; and
OO. Shared Spaces Foundation: $76,173 for "Increasing Education, Safe Community Access, and Recreation on the Duwamish River 2."