Pierce  County  Public  Works  &  U4li4es    Surface  Water  Management  

Watershed  Health  Data  Website  

Background  Informa4on  

•  Problem: Surface Water Management (SWM) collects watershed health monitoring data and had no public forum to easily share the data with the Public.

•  Solution: GIS Specialist/Database Administrator team assigned project to develop an interactive web-based data center.

•  Interdepartmental Project: PC GIS/SWM Technology staff and Public Works Communication & Accountability developed product for Public GIS

Data  Collected  by  SWM  Monitoring  Staff:  Monthly Water Quality Monitoring: Over 50 streams are sampled monthly. Shellfish Monitoring: Each quarter outfalls along Burley Lagoon, Rocky Creek and Filucy Bay are sampled. Weather Stations- 16 stations County Maintained Pond Levels- 4 with remote pond level access Ground Water Well Levels- 18 wells Biological Assessment macro invertebrate count (bugs) completed on streams every 5 years. SWM Capitol Improvement Project Support

**National Pollution Discharge Elimination System Permit Support (NPDES): Our monitoring staff samples three outfall sites, four Best Management Practices sites, two program effectiveness studies and one flow reduction assessment site for permit compliance purposes.

Jus4fica4on  Process:  

•  Survey: Completed with SWM staff, assessed the costs and time associated with accessing/sharing our data

• Results: 240 work hours or $8,000 per year was spent on fulfilling water quality data requests

• Lack of Transparency: Data only available through Public Information Requests

• Mapping: No ability to show the public extent of environmental monitoring

Development  Steps:  

•  SWM created the GIS feature classes & ‘view’ to database

• Communication & Accountability division of PW&U, and SWM’s Education & Outreach Coordinator developed the look of the “Identify Results” boxes

• Pierce County GIS built the “Identify Results” boxes, linked data & loaded the layer Into Public GIS

Database  Export    

Data  Available  for  Download  

Link  to  Water  Quality  Website:  

www.piercecountywa.org/watershedhealthdata

Renee Quenneville GIS Specialist

rquenne@co.pierce.wa.us 253-798-4221