Happy New Year!  

I am really looking forward to 2025. We have set some ambitious targets and are optimistic about achieving them.  

This year we will be rolling out our updated mapping tool to support regional retrofit decision making. This tool will support stormwater permit compliance, amplify watershed-wide collaboration, and establish more confidence in decisions to locate stormwater retrofits. Ultimately, we are aiming to develop a list of projects in priority catchments that can be packaged into discrete portfolios to compete for large infrastructure funding dollars.  

I am also looking forward to the possibility of grant funding to support the development of a performance-based cooperative contract request for proposal (RFP). This RFP is intended to supplement stormwater infrastructure improvements, cut through green tape, and expedite stormwater retrofit projects in areas of the most need across the watershed. This type of contract would be outcome-based and yield quantitative results while being responsive to the interests of our partners. We are expecting to hear about that funding in March.  

Lastly, I am most excited about how we plan to weave this work together with salmon recovery efforts, toxics reduction strategies, fish passage barrier removal efforts, and the preservation of open space. All of these community and environmental priorities are important and it’s imperative to do the work collaboratively, rather than siloed.  

Since 2014 our vision as an OGD coalition has described a desire to sustainably manage stormwater and support and enhance the environment, human health, and the economy in the Green/Duwamish watershed. This is the year when we start seeing what’s truly possible, and I hope you’re as excited as I am.  

Todd