Engineering

Statement of Qualifications
Natural Resource Conservation
Engineering Services
Whatcom Conservation District

Organization Identification

Whatcom Conservation District
6975 Hannegan Road
Lynden WA 98264-9019
Tel. (360) 354-2035
Contact:
Tom Slocum, PE
Washington Conservation Districts NW Region Engineer
Email: tom@skagitcd.org

Summary of Services

Whatcom Conservation District (WCD) offers civil and environmental engineering services for soil, water and habitat conservation projects in Whatcom County. We work with private landowners, non-government organizations, dike and drainage districts, and tribal and local government agencies to provide assistance with project planning, feasibility studies, engineering design, permitting and construction management on projects that help conserve natural resources. In some situations, we also can assist in obtaining grant funding for project construction.

WCD, like all Washington conservation districts, is a political subdivision of Washington State. Our engineering program is funded through grants from state agencies and project-specific funding sources. We also work under inter-local agreements with local government agencies. WCD’s engineering program works in coordination with and shares resources with our counterpart conservation districts in Island, San Juan and Skagit counties.

WCD’s engineering services program specializes in designing and permitting wetland and salmon habitat restoration and enhancement projects. Our recent projects have included:

• stream channel design
• replacing culverts to improve fish passage
• fish ways
• modification of tide gates to allow tidal flow and fish passage
• constructed wetlands
• bioengineered bank and shoreline stabilization

For these projects, we typically carryout the following in-house engineering tasks:

• basic hydrologic and hydraulic engineering evaluation
• topographic surveying of channel profiles and cross sections
• channel and shoreline geomorphologic field evaluations,
• engineering design and cost estimating
• preparation of permit applications
• preparation of engineering drawings and construction specifications

Whatcom Conservation District Engineering Program

Selected Recent Natural Resource Conservation Engineering Projects

Crescent Harbor Salt Marsh Restoration Oak Harbor , 2007 - 2009 Worked with the Skagit River System Cooperative and Naval Air Station Whidbey Island to design and construct a suite of projects to restore tidal connectivity into approx. 200 acres of the Crescent Harbor salt marsh.  Projects included tidal channel construction, breaching of dikes, and rerouting utilities associated with the City of Oak Harbor’s wastewater treatment plant, which is located at the site.
Cottonwood Island Slough Reconnection Skagit County , 2009 ongoing Currently working on a Washington Salmon Recovery Funding Board grant to complete engineering design and permit applications for reconnecting a relic slough with the Skagit River .  The objective of the project is to restore critical rearing habitat for out-migrating juvenile Chinook salmon.  The project involves coordinating inputs from technical consultants and from several, diverse stakeholder organizations.
Whatcom DID#2 / Schneider Ditch Floodgate Retrofit. Whatcom County , 2008 Designed and obtained construction grant funding for retrofitting two aging conventional floodgates with an innovative floodgate design that allows upstream fish passage while protecting surrounding agricultural land from flooding.  The design specified a proprietary “muted tidal regulated” control system that keeps the gates open at low water levels, but allows them to function as conventional floodgates when rising river stage backwaters the upstream channel.   Cost approx. $45,000.
Fidalgo Bay Shoreline Stabilization Anacortes, 2006-2009 Worked with a private landowner, the City of Anacortes and the Samish Tribe to design and permit a project to stabilize an eroding shoreline on Fidalgo Bay .  The design featured “soft” shoreline armoring techniques that recreate natural forage fish spawning habitat.  Design challenges included impacts of a nearby riprap jetty on shoreline drift and the presence of an important prehistoric shellfish midden at the site.  Cost approx. $120,000.
Island County Gov. Annex Building Rain Garden Retrofit Coupeville, 2008 Using WDOE grant funding, designed and constructed a rain garden to treat and infiltrate runoff from a parking lot at the Island County Government Annex Building .  The project location outside of the county permitting office building serves as a high-profile example of “low impact development” techniques for improving stormwater runoff quality.  Project cost $20,000.
Port Stanley Lagoon Tidal Flow Restoration Lopez Island , 2006 Replaced a conventional tidegate at the outlet of Lopez Island ’s Port Stanley estuary with an innovative self-regulating tidegate design. Work involved obtaining grants for design and construction phases, coordinating work of hydraulic modeling, tidegate design, and ecology consultants, obtaining all permits, managing construction, and liaison with county government and local residents.  Completed project cost approx. $115,000.
McClellan Creek Fishway Construction Whatcom County , 2006-2007 Worked with WDFW and a large agricultural landowner to design, permit and construct fish passage improvements past two irrigation water impoundment dams on McClellan Creek.  One project consisted of a concrete pool and chute fishway.  The other consisted of log grade control weirs.  Both designs incorporated WDFW fish passage standards.  Project cost approx. $25,000.
Tenmile Creek Channel Restoration Whatcom County 2003 Removed about 300 feet of creek from an agricultural drainage ditch to a constructed channel matching local “reference” morphological and in-stream habitat conditions.  Designed, obtained permits and managed construction of channel work and coordinated with USDA “CREP” project to reforest the floodplain.  Completed creek project costs approx. $35,000.
Samish River Bioengineered Bank Stabilization Skagit County , 2007 Worked with a private landowner to design, permit and construct an innovative bioengineered bank stabilization project along the Samish River .  The design featured floating large wood debris deflectors that dissipate flow energy against the bank as the river stage rises and falls.   Project cost approx. $10,000.