Lower Tolt River restoration project public meeting April 5 in Carnation

The Carnation community will have another opportunity to learn about and comment on a proposal for restoring the lower Tolt River and rebuilding an old flood-protection levee at a public meeting, set for April 5.

The meeting will run from 6:30-9 p.m. in the multi-purpose room at Carnation Elementary School, 4950 Tolt Ave. A half-hour open house will be followed by a short presentation on the project, then an hour-long question-and-answer session. King County Councilmember Kathy Lambert is co-hosting the meeting.

King County and the City of Seattle are developing the habitat restoration project in Tolt River–John MacDonald Park to benefit chinook salmon, which have protection under the Endangered Species Act. The Tolt River is the largest salmon-bearing tributary to the Snoqualmie River.

Some key features of the proposed project include relocating an old levee within the park and restoring natural habitat conditions in the lower Tolt River. The project is also designed to maintain the current level of flood control, which would naturally decrease over time if left unimproved.

Relocating the levee will give the river more space to meander within the park and return to its natural, historical condition. The project will also provide a new walking trail atop a new flood-protection levee, plus additional parking areas within.

King County and Seattle hosted a public open house last June to provide interested citizens with information about the restoration project.

Since the June meeting, project sponsors have been addressing comments received during the public comment period, including a request for a third-party review of the project's flood-protection elements.

Northwest Hydraulic Consultants recently completed the review, which noted that the project design would not increase flood or erosion risks for the city of Carnation.

Recreational elements of the project have also been enhanced in response to comments from the community, including a family-friendly access site near State Route 203 bridge across the Tolt River, and possibly linking park trails to the city's trail system.

Detailed information about the lower Tolt River restoration project is available online at http://dnr.metrokc.gov/tolt-restoration. The Web pages include project goals, project details and maps of the area.