Puget Sound Institute Data and Papers

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://digital.lib.washington.edu/handle/1773/48354

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    Washington State Kelp Threat Rating: data and analysis code
    (2025-10-24) Raymond, Wendel W; Claar, Danielle C; Duggins, David O; Hayford, Hilary; Mumford, Tom; Pfister, Catherine A; Rubin, Steve; Magel, Caitlin L
    The data and analysis code in this repository were produced in support of the Puget Sound kelp and eelgrass risk assessment project, funded by the Puget Sound Partnership under an award to University of Washington. Marine foundation species are under threat worldwide, including kelps in Washington State. Stressors such as warming, eutrophication, and reduced water quality—often linked to human activities—are generally well recognized, yet their relative severity and certainty have not been systematically evaluated. In order to complete a cumulative risk assessment for kelp in Washington state, a relative rating of the importance of individual threats to kelp was needed. To fill this gap, a panel of regional kelp experts built on a previously developed conceptual model of kelp stressors in the Salish Sea to rate the severity and scientific certainty of each stressor across several characteristics (magnitude, timing, spatial and depth extent, etc.). The panel performed the rating exercise for three taxa; Nereocystis, Macrocystis, and understory kelps, and two life stages; sporophyte (adult) and gametophyte (juvenile). Our process produced a rich dataset which can be separated by stressor, taxa, and life stage allowing broad application to support decision making and prioritization of kelp research, management, and conservation. The dataset contains the complete severity and certainty ratings from the expert panel (n = 6) and the accompanying code can be used to reproduce the analysis and plots presented in the resulting manuscript.
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    Puget Sound Wastewater Service Affordability Analysis Data Collection
    (2022-09-30) Barber, Audrey; Bogue, Kevin; Burke, Susan; Jo, Nate; Kinney, Aimee
    This data collection was compiled in support of Puget Sound National Estuary Program planning efforts related to the Marine Water Quality Implementation Strategy. The strategy identifies current funding levels as a barrier to compliance with a Puget Sound Nutrient General Permit (PSNGP) issued by the Washington Department of Ecology. Local wastewater service providers have expressed concerns about the impact of costly upgrades on their ratepayers, and previous research identified existing water utility service affordability challenges in the Puget Sound region. Since nutrient reduction upgrades have the potential to exacerbate affordability challenges, additional data collection/analysis was recommended. This data collection includes 4 data files plus this data description. Methodology, data sources, and metadata for each file can be found in the file-by-file description section. This data collection was developed as part of an affordability analysis conducted in three steps. First, we compiled three types of raw data: (1) U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) population, median household income (MHI), and household income by quintile data for individual census tracts located within the Puget Sound region’s 12 counties; (2) spatial data on service area boundaries for local wastewater service providers (utilities) impacted by the PSNGP; and (3) rate schedules for those utilities. Next, we processed the raw data to obtain: (1) annual household sewer service cost for each utility; and (2) Lowest Quintile Income (LQI) for households within the service area for each utility. The last step was calculating two affordability indices for each utility by dividing their annual sewer service cost by estimated LQI and MHI within their service area. Results were compared to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency benchmarks. Of the 80 utilities included in the analysis, 71 (89%) had annual service costs exceeding 2% of LQI and 4 (5%) had costs exceeding 2% of MHI.
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    Puget Sound Stormwater Utility Fee and Stormwater Program Budget Dataset
    (2022-03-07) Kinney, Aimee
    This data collection was compiled to support Puget Sound National Estuary Program planning efforts and provide a baseline for tracking of recovery progress. A key Puget Sound National Estuary Program recovery strategy is to increase funding for stormwater management by supporting the development and/or expansion of local (i.e., county and municipal government) revenue streams. However, when this strategy was developed there was a notable lack of data about how local stormwater programs were funded; total funding levels; how many jurisdictions charged Stormwater Utility Fees (SUFs); and how often SUFs are increased. The Puget Sound Institute project team aimed to close these data gaps by compiling detailed information about SUF rate structure and fees charged, stormwater program revenue by source, and expenditures for operations/maintenance and capital expenses. This data collection includes 13 files. Metadata for each file are provided in this data description. “Spreadsheet_1 _SUF_data” provides 2019 and 2020 rate structure and fee data for the 124 local jurisdictions in the Puget Sound watershed. “Spreadsheet_2_Budget_data” provides 2019 data on stormwater program revenue by source and expenditures for capital versus operations and maintenance expenses. Budget reports were obtained for 80 jurisdictions, but only 14 included sufficient detail to classify expenditures. Spreadsheets 3-13 contain raw parcel data for 11 jurisdictions downloaded from county assessor offices, parcel-level impervious area estimates, SUF calculations for all parcels in each jurisdiction (2019), and impervious area-normalized SUF calculations ($ per ft2 impervious area) for all parcels in each jurisdiction.