Remainder of Duwamish Waterway Park and beach area to reopen after additional environmental remediation work
Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR), Seattle Parks Foundation and the Friends of Duwamish Waterway Park, opened the play area at Duwamish Waterway Park, 7900 10th Ave. S in South Park in late August. SPR purchased the 1.3-acre, main lawn portion of the park from King County after a community-led process to make the entire property a permanent neighborhood riverfront park. A small portion of the park area is owned by the Port of Seattle, but has been operated as part of the park for many years.
SPR is working with the contractor, the Port of Seattle, the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology), and the Duwamish River Community Coalition regarding additional environmental remediation needs before opening the remainder of the park. Seattle Parks and Recreation activities to date include renovation of the park and partial removal of soil contamination discovered between 2014 and 2019. After the soil removal, the addressed areas were covered with clean soil, grass, and/or concrete and the actions were reported to the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) through the Voluntary Cleanup Program. After consulting with Ecology and the Duwamish River Community Coalition, Seattle Parks and Recreation identified further actions are needed before opening the remainder of the park. Completion of the cleanup of the park will be advised by Ecology under the Voluntary Cleanup Program and the Duwamish River Community Coalition to ensure we are in agreement with the community goals. Though the schedule for cleanup is yet to be determined, SPR is working to open the remainder of the park as soon as possible.
Working with SPR and the Seattle Parks Foundation, the Friends of Duwamish Waterway Park raised over $1 million for park improvements and launched the renovation effort as this park is a high priority for the community. The community led and funded park project is carefully designed to maximize open space for recreation and festivals, and to preserve river access for launching hand-carried boats. SPR renovated the park which now offers a new play area, an accessible perimeter pathway with a series of interpretive artwork boulders, new park furnishings with accessible picnic tables, barbecues, as well as a drinking fountain and foot wash area. Voluntary Cleanup Program activities to address the contamination at the park to date have been funded separately.
For additional information please visit https://www.seattle.gov/parks/about-us/projects/duwamish-waterway-park or contact Karen O’Connor at karen.oconnor@seattle.gov.
For more information on the status of the site cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program, see Ecology’s webpage (Site Information (wa.gov)).