West Cemetery Creek Water Quality Improvements

West Cemetery Creek Sediment Management and Restoration Project​

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​This habitat restoration project​ designed and constructed stream bank and channel stabilization features along West Cemetery Creek. This project installed natural bed and bank features and facilitate stormwater dispersion along the creek to improve water quality and restore natural processes in West Cemetery Creek. This project implemented two of the top three highest priority actions identified in the 2013 West Cemetery Creek Sediment Management Alternatives Feasibility Study​​:

1. ​​​​Installing natural bed and bank features to slow stream velocities, reduce erosion, and demobilize sediment within a​ 2,300 foot section of West Cemetery Creek.
2. Stabilizing slopes and facilitating stormwater dispersion at two roadways (downstream of Lakeway Drive and Old Lakeway Drive) to address undercutting and bank erosion.

This project improves water quality by addressing stream velocities and erosion that cause excessive sediment migration in West Cemetery Creek​. The Whatcom Creek Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), written to address temperature, bacteria, and dissolved oxygen impairments in all three of Bellingham’s semi-urban stream systems, indicates that stabilization of stream channels is an appropriate strategy to use in this corridor. The stormwater improvement​s and infrastructure upgrades will reduce turbidity and sedimentation that cause a loss of dissolved oxygen and an increase in stream temperatures. By restoring underlying processes, this project provides long-term protection and water quality improvements in West Cemetery Creek, and benefits downstream waters, including Whatcom Creek and Bellingham Bay.​​

See the West Cemetery Creek Water Quality Project webpage for construction updates. 

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