Overview
TRPC and Thurston County are collaborating to bring watershed science into local policies that protect the water quality of our creeks, rivers, lakes and Puget Sound. The projects listed below begin with interdisciplinary project teams of planners and engineers exploring the land cover, pollution levels, and other current conditions of Thurston County’s watersheds and the smaller basins within. The analyses help the project teams identify areas that are at highest risk from future development and areas that can benefit most from protection and restoration of ecological functions. The project teams then assess the effects of various future strategies, taking into account factors such as projected population, employment and transportation.
Surveys and additional feedback from the watersheds’ residents help shape land-use recommendations — anything from adjusting cities’ urban growth area boundaries and zoning to creating new requirements and incentives for low-impact development, tree retention, and stream bank restoration.
Each watershed is different, so there is no one-size-fits-all approach to management and protection. Local jurisdictions may choose which management strategies fit their community best.