Sequalitchew Creek
| Sequalitchew Creek | |
|---|---|
Sequalitchew Creek, lower canyon
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| Basin features | |
| Main source | Sequalitchew Lake |
| River mouth | DuPont Warf, Nisqually Reach |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Length | 38.4 mi (61.8 km) |
| Discharge |
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| Watershed | Chambers-Clover Watershed |
Sequalitchew Creek, located in DuPont, Washington emanates from Sequalitchew Lake, Fort Lewis, Washington, was the location of the original Fort Nisqually trading post established in 1833 by the Hudson's Bay Company. The historic, natural flow of Sequalitchew Creek runs from Sequalitchew Lake, through Edmonds Marsh, down the canyon and out to the Puget Sound.
In 1959 and 1960, Sequalitchew Lake was utilized by the Washington Department of Fisheries as a fish farm that reared and released coho salmon to Sequalitchew Creek. From 1976 until the mid-1990s the Washington Department of Fisheries operated a coho salmon fish hatchery and rearing facility on Sequalitchew Lake. In the past, Native Americans caught from 3,500 to 4,000 fish annually in Sequalitchew Creek.
The total drainage basin of the Creek encompasses 38.4 square miles (99 km2). This watershed begins at Kinsey Marsh, draining via Murray Creek into American Lake. Seasonal overflow from American Lake feeds Sequalitchew Lake. The water level of both lakes is maintained year round by springs and water table seepage. A diversion dam, built by Fort Lewis around 1950, lies near the headwaters of the Creek. The dam drains through a canal that originates in Hamer Marsh, east of the Creek. Just south of Sequalitchew Lake, the canal passes under the Creek through a series of complicated culverts. It continues west for one mile (1.6 km), and turns north to empty into Puget Sound at Tatsolo Point, off Steilacoom-DuPont Road, DuPont. The creek bed still carries water, in the form of ground water runoff, down the same historic creek path, finally emptying into the Puget Sound.
The areas unparalleled natural beauty can be traversed on an old narrow gauge railway roadbed that ran from the DuPont Company area to Puget Sound. The trail leads to Sequalitchew beach. The creek corridor is used by hundreds of species, including eagles, hawks, song birds, herons, ducks, owls, frogs, salamanders, snakes, beaver, raccoons, coyotes, deer, and rabbits. The waters off Sequalitchew Beach are inhabited by harbor seal and gray whale.
A proposed 177-acre (0.72 km2) expansion of Glacier Northwest's, (recently renamed as Cal-Portland, previously known as Lone Star Gravel), existing gravel mine will involve the removal of 184 acres (0.74 km2) of forest and topsoil surrounding Sequalitchew Creek. If allowed, it will create a 550-acre (2.2 km2) hole in the underlying gravel as 40 million tons of gravel is extracted over the next 14 years. The pit will be 80 feet (24 m) deep and expose the underlying Vashon Aquifer. The flow from this exposed aquifer (estimated at approximately 6.5 million gallons per day) will be directed down a man made ditch to Sequalitchew Creek with a flow eight times that of present Sequalitchew Creek. The dewatering of the aquifer will lower the groundwater level in the vicinity by as much as 30 feet (9.1 m), thereby draining nearby Edmonds Marsh, a Class I wetland. Nearby Pond Lake, McKay Marsh, Bell Marsh and Hammer Marsh will be adversely affected.
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Wikipedia