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How to protect Vashon's fresh water
Learn how you can care for Vashon's water through everyday actions, volunteer opportunities, and additional education.
How can people care for water on Vashon?
Protecting Vashon's water is a shared responsibility. There are lots of different ways you can get involved and many organizations and resources that can help.
Everyday actions
Creating new habits can lead to healthier water for people, wildlife, and plants, and even small changes can have a big impact! Here are some everyday actions residents and business owners can take:
- Put waste where it belongs
- Pick up pet poop
- Don't illegally dump garbage
- Safely dispose of hazardous waste
- Keep livestock out of streams
- Protect and maintain wells
- Inspect and maintain septic systems
- Use water wisely
- Fix dripping fixtures
- Don't leave faucets or hoses running
- Install a rain barrel or cistern
- Adopt natural lawncare and gardening practices
Volunteer opportunities
If you're looking for more hands-on or group activities, you're in luck! There are lots of ways to collect and share data, meet other freshwater fans, spend time outdoors, and contribute to safe, clean water and healthy habitats on Vashon:
- Routinely monitor your private well and share data with King County staff who track water levels across the Island
- Volunteer with the Vashon Nature Center to
- Monitor benthic invertebrates ("stream bugs") that help us identify and understand potential water quality problems in Vashon's streams
- Count salmon returning to spawn as part of the SalmonWatchers program
- Collect data about wintering birds for the Puget Sound Seabird Survey
- Participate in Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust events to
- Tackle invasive plants
- Restore native habitats
- Learn about Vashon's land and waterways
- Become part of the Vashon-Maury Island Groundwater Protection Committee:
- Attend a quarterly meeting
- Join the GWPC Board
- Volunteer your time or resources to community education efforts
Learn and share
When you know where Vashon's water comes from, why it's special, and how to protect it, you can share that knowledge with family, friends, and neighbors. The links below will take you to additional resources and reports
- Subscribe to the Vashon-Maury Island groundwater email list
- King County's groundwater well map
- King County groundwater data, maps and reports
- King County's Pollution Identification and Correction (PIC) program: Technical assistance for septic system owners, rebate programs, and education resources
- Puget Sound Stream Benthos (stream bug data)
- Vashon Nature Center's Water Wellness Toolbox: This guide offers information and resources for a holistic approach to engaging community members of all ages in improving local watershed health and decreasing impacts from stormwater.
- Vashon Team Septic: Also known as the Septic Sisters, VTS is a volunteer group supported by Public Health - Seattle and King County that provides information and resources for owners and users of septic systems. Check out the video below, produced by King County TV, to learn how they help residents build and maintain healthy septic systems.