Bear Creek at Friendly Village Stream Report
Bear Creek is in the Lake Washington watershed. It originates from Paradise Lake near Maltby and flows
to a confluence with the Sammamish River in Redmond. It is 12.4 miles long. It has two major tributaries,
Cottage Lake Creek and Evans Creek. It has a watershed of 32,100 acres. Bear Creek is categorized as
“Core Summer Salmonid Habitat” for aquatic life. Bear Creek’s water quality, while generally good, is
challenged with high levels of fecal coliform bacteria, elevated water temperatures, and low dissolved
oxygen (DO) levels.
In the past few years there have been substantial habitat restoration projects downstream of the
monitoring site completed by Adopt A Stream and the City of Redmond.
Monitoring Results
Data Collected by Sno-King Water Watch Volunteers.
Key Findings
- Stream temperatures occasionally exceed 160 C which can be stressful for aquatic life and hold less oxygen.
- Dissolved oxygen values are commonly below 10.0 mg/L which can be unhealthy for fish and other wildlife.
- Bacteria (E. coli) concentrations have been consistently low recently, but have shown higher levels in the past. This is a good trend.
- Turbidity results have been low for the past 3 years of monitoring events indicating minimal erosion or sediment movement during monitoring.
- pH, alkalinity, and hardness tests are within a standard range during this sampling time period. Readings out of the normal range might indicate water pollution or contamination.
- Wildlife – Salmon and large crawfish have been observed during monitoring events.
Bear Creek at Friendly Village – Water Watchers
Linda Sue Thompsen and Glenn Hayman lead the monitoring effort at this site. Linda Sue retired after 40 years in the field of developmental disabilities. She is an avid birder and is secretary for the Eastside Audubon Conservation Committee. Glenn is a retired Geologist and has 36 years of experience as a project and program manager investigating and remediating contaminated soil and groundwater sites. Linda Sue and Glen participate in legislative advocacy through Environment Washington. We have been monitoring water quality at this site since 2021.
Glenn Hayman
Water Watcher and a member of the Sno-King Watershed Council.
Linda Sue Thompsen
Water Watcher and a member of the Sno-King Watershed Council.
To learn more and train as a water monitoring volunteer email: snokingwatershedcouncil@gmail.com
Major support for our program comes from the King County Wastewater Treatment Division Waterworks grant program. Additional support is provided by the Cascade Water Alliance.
