Tulalip Tribes to build wetland as stormwater filter

The Daily Herald of Everett reported on a Tulalip Tribes project to build a wetland to filter stormwater runoff into Tulalip Bay:

Tulalip Bay is one of north Snohomish County’s picturesque gems, but the Tulalip tribal government says it is suffering from pollution caused by development.

The bay sits at the bottom of land mass that is nearly funnel-shaped, with higher ground on three sides. The geography allows storm water and other polluted liquids to easily drain right into the bay, where Tulalip Indians have fished for generations.

Now, tribal leaders hope to change that. There’s little they can do to stop runoff completely, but tribal crews are scheduled to begin construction in November on a wetland area that will filter pollutants out of runoff before it continues into the bay.