Project Overview
Padden Creek 24th to 30th Streets Restoration Project is a multi-phased project to address impaired conditions in Padden Creek. The goals of this project are to:
- Improve water quality and aquatic functions in Padden Creek through enhancing floodplain, instream, and riparian functions between 24th and 30th Streets
- Add habitat features that provide places for fish to rest and hide
- Plant native plants that provide shelter, shade, food, and other benefits for fish and wildlife
The project is divided into three phases. Phase 1 was completed in 2023 and is located in the center of the reach, roughly between Padden Creek’s confluence with Connelly Creek upstream to the Happy Valley Park footbridge. Phase 2 was completed in 2025 and runs from the Connelly Creek confluence downstream to 24th Street. Phases 1 and 2 enhanced the floodplain as well as instream, off-channel, and riparian buffer structure and function. Phase 3 will be upstream between 30th Street and the Happy Valley Park footbridge and will include stream relocation and buffer restoration.
Project Status – 2025
Water is flowing through the new Phase 2 section of stream channel, and the channel is open to fish! This improved section of stream includes important habitat features such as pools and large woody debris — perfect places for fish to hide and rest. Native plants have been planted at the site to provide shade, shelter, food, and other benefits for fish and wildlife.
As part of this project, loads of invasive species were removed, including reed canary grass, hawthorn, and Himalayan blackberry. Before the new channel was constructed, fish were successfully relocated downstream of the project area by trained staff in late August to allow for filling of the old stream channel. 500 fish were relocated, including coho salmon, cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, and stickleback.
More Information
Functional floodplains, off-channel habitats, and riparian buffers are important aspects of healthy watersheds. Unfortunately, many of these features are often missing or reduced along urban streams. This is the case for Padden Creek, where these features have been impacted by urban development and stream channelization, harming water quality in Padden Creek.
Padden Creek is on Washington State’s 303(d) list of water quality-impaired waters for dissolved oxygen, temperature, and fecal coliform. Padden Creek also has a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for temperature (Hood & Cristea 2011). Padden Creek contains ESA-listed Chinook salmon and steelhead trout, and according to Washington State water quality standards, the 7-day average of daily maximum temperatures in Padden Creek should not exceed the core summer salmonid threshold of 16 degrees Celsius. However, long-term monitoring by the City has shown that point-in-time summer water temperatures have exceeded this threshold.
Since 2014, the City has invested more than $9.5 million in the Padden Creek corridor through the Padden Creek Daylighting Project, Padden Estuary Restoration, and the Harris Street Stormwater Treatment Facility. Phase 1 complements more recent WSDOT fish passage improvements in Padden Creek at I-5 and Fairhaven Parkway.
Phase 1 was completed in early 2023 and included the center section of the project reach between 24th and 30th Streets.
Phase 1 focused on restoring Padden Creek at its confluence with Connelly Creek. The Phase 1 project area is an undeveloped floodplain owned by the City and connected to private undeveloped land to the north, creating one of the widest remaining undeveloped riparian corridors in the lower Padden sub-watershed.
Phase 1:
- Restored and enhanced approximately two acres of riparian buffers with native vegetation, including approximately 1.25 acres of wetland and 1.6 acres of floodplain. This included the removal of invasive vegetation. The enhanced riparian buffers will create shade over time and help filter pollutants from stormwater runoff.
- Enhanced approximately 550 linear feet of stream channel with pools, riffles, fish-friendly sediment, backwaters, and side channels. These are features often found in natural stream systems.
- Installed approximately 12 large woody debris structures that help with the formation of pools that provide habitat for salmon.
Floodplain enhancement included maximizing floodplain extent and increasing the connectivity between groundwater and surface water. Increased connectivity will stabilize stream temperature by minimizing baseflow attenuations. Wetland enhancement will decrease stream temperatures through groundwater recharge and the stabilization of baseflow. Large woody debris will decrease stream temperatures through enhanced hyporheic exchange, improving the vertical connectivity between groundwater and surface water. Phase 1 actions that decrease stream temperature will also increase dissolved oxygen, as they are inversely related. Phase 1 also directly increases dissolved oxygen levels through the creation of riffles.
- Contract awarded – May 23, 2022
- Contract amount – $254,858.02
- Contractor – Matia Contractors, Inc.
- Vicinity Map
Phase 2 created approximately 1000 feet of new channel with pools and large woody debris to remove the creek from the existing highly channelized – or straightened – section between 24th Street and the confluence of Connelly Creek. This work improves water quality and aquatic function within the creek, as well as enhances the riparian buffer.
Project construction for Phase 2 was awarded to Matia Contractors for $608,717.59. This project is funded by the City of Bellingham (Stormwater funds) and Washington State Department of Ecology.
Phase 1 of the project was awarded a $254,858.02 construction contract and completed by Matia Contractors in early 2023.
- Phase 1 Overview Map
- Alternatives Analysis – shows the three alternatives that were reviewed by stakeholders and the City, Alternative Two was selected
- Letters of Support from Stakeholders
- Padden Creek 24th to 30th Streets Restoration Project Presentation Slides With Notes
Find more updates on Public Works projects by signing up for our monthly newsletter.
Resources
- Padden Creek Daylighting Project
- Padden Creek Estuary Habitat Enhancement Project
- City Restoration Sites Map
- Water Quality
- Fish Studies
- Habitat Restoration Technical Assessment (HRTA)
Contact
Craig Mueller, P.E.
Project Engineer
Public Works Department, Engineering
(360) 778-7922, camueller@cob.org
Analiese Burns
Habitat and Restoration Manager
Public Works Department, Natural Resources
(360) 778-7968, acburns@cob.org
Media inquiries: Email pwmedia@cob.org
