The Federal Way City Council took one step closer to making all Federal Way streams salmon-friendly.

The council passed an ordinance on Dec. 3 to acquire a small piece of property through condemnation in order to work on a culvert replacement project. The culvert is located off Redondo Way South near where the road crosses Redondo Creek.

This project is one many across the state to replace the estimated 18,000 fish passage barriers, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Many of these barriers are undersized and impassible culverts that block salmon migration after a 2018 Supreme Court case affirmed that the impassable culverts violated local fishing treaty rights of Native Americans in Washington state.

Replacing culverts is a slow process, and to support salmon populations, Federal Way and other cities help in other ways. Last week, city staff kicked off the annual Storming the Sound with Salmon partnership with Federal Way Public Schools by picking up salmon eggs that will be cared for, then released by elementary school students.

Federal Way environmental services staff picked up the coho salmon eggs from a Pierce County hatchery, then delivered them to 34 fish tanks in the school district, according to city communications.

There are also public tanks in the Federal Way Community Center and in the lobby at City Hall for everyone to be able to see the process.

Projects like Storming the Sound with Salmon are a way to combat the impact of thousands of impassable fish culverts along their original streams. Salmon need to be able to travel upstream for sometimes hundreds of miles in order to spawn naturally. While culverts allow streams and rivers to flow under roads uninterrupted, many of them are too small, steep or blocked for salmon to access, according to the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

This can cause issues for humans as well as salmon.

“Undersized culverts and bridges also contribute to flood damage, threaten public safety and drain funds for emergency repairs. Washington is among the most flood-prone of Western states,” according to the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

At the most recent Storming the Sound with Salmon release event in spring 2024, more than 1,700 fourth-graders attended, according to the city’s website. It was the first time hosting the event near the Brooklake Community Center, and students had the chance to hear “the story of Little Silver Salmon from the Puyallup Tribal Language Department, learn about salmon, water resources, native plants, environmental stresses for salmon and much more,” through partnerships with local community organizations, according to the city.

Overall 3,500 salmonids were released at that event.

Redondo Creek culvert

To replace this particular culvert at Redondo Creek, the city needs access to a certain parcel of land on some vacant property.

According to city documents, the city sent an offer of $25,509 to Ambika Investment LLC for the 800 square feet to be bought and the 2,640 square feet for the temporary construction easement. Documents state that “the property owner refused the offer and has been unresponsive when asked about a counter offer.”

If the city does not receive any response from the owner, the ordinance passed on Dec. 3 will allow the city to condemn it and then take ownership of that small piece of land.

This culvert is an issue for salmon passage because of the slope, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Coho, steelhead, sea-run cutthroats and resident trout are all species that were documented to be potentially benefited by clearing the blockages on the stream.

Downstream from this culvert are five more barriers that are also impassable to salmon. Once all of them are cleared, it will open up 89 square meters of spawning area and 25,784 square meters of rearing area for their life stages after hatching, according to the department.

There are many other culverts that are impassable around the city, but there is a plan to replace them, according to the department. The salmon that the elementary school students release next year will make their way to the ocean and live there for about 18 months to two years before they head back up their ancestral stream, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

This culvert on Redondo Creek is one of many that block salmon from accessing spawning grounds to lay their eggs. The City of Federal Way is taking steps to replace this and others to support the salmon population. Photo from Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife reports.

Students learn about the salmon life cycle with community partners at the Storming the Sound with Salmon release event in spring of 2024. Photo provided by the City of Federal Way.

Students cared for salmon eggs as part of curriculum through Federal Way Public Schools then released them during the Storming the Sound with Salmon event in spring of 2024. Photo provided by the City of Federal Way.