Harper Estuary Restoration Project
Harper Estuary is a small but significant estuary on Kitsap County’s south-eastern shore. The estuary has important value for fish and wildlife, Tribal treaty resources, recreation, and local history. The Harper Estuary Restoration Project aims to re-establish tidal influence and estuarine habitat.
Update December 2024 - Harper Estuary Project Update
The Harper Estuary Restoration Project aims to restore tidal influence and estuarine habitat in the 3-acre estuary by replacing an undersized 3-ft diameter culvert with a 120-ft bridge.
Kitsap County made significant progress on the Harper Estuary project in 2024 to prepare for the bridge construction. Here is a summary of the work completed:
Design: Final design for construction bidding is complete.
The final design includes refined stormwater treatment as well as pedestrian access and small watercraft hand launch on the northeast side of the bridge.
Permits: All state and federal permits have been obtained, including NEPA.
- The project qualified for streamlined state and local permitting through Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife's (WDFW) Habitat Recovery Pilot Program (HRPP).
- Washington State Department of Natural Resources Aquatic Lands Lease is in process, as we all as securing additional Right of Way and temporary easement needs.
Funding: Construction cost increases result in a $2.5 million funding gap.
In 2023, Kitsap County secured $5.9 million for final design and construction of the Harper Estuary bridge through Washington State Department Of Transportation (WSDOT) Protect Program. The construction estimate based on 2024 costs is approximately $8.4 million, which resulted in a $2.5 million funding shortfall. Due to this shortfall, construction is rescheduled to the Summer 2026 while Kitsap County works to secure additional funds to complete the project. The County is working with the US Navy to secure the additional $2.5 million funding needed for construction.
- Total Construction Costs: $8.4 million
- Total Funds Secured: $5.9 million (PROTECT)
- Total Funds Needed: $2.5 million (potential source: US Navy)
Construction Schedule: Summer 2026
The project is on Public Works' 6-Year Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) Project List. If funding is secured within the next 6 months, the County plans to advertise for construction bids in Summer/Fall 2025, for construction to start in early summer of 2026.
Community Outreach
Project updates will be shared through this Harper Estuary webpage and GovDelivery email blasts. Subscribe to GovDelivery to receive up to date information about the project. For questions or comments about the project, please email kitsap1@kitsap.gov or call 360-337-5777.
SAVE THE DATE for an in-person informational community meeting scheduled for January 28, 2025, at the Colby United Methodist Church. More details about the meeting will be shared in the new year.
Kitsap County has received funding from the Federal Highway Administration through the WSDOT Local Programs PROTECT program to finalize the design and permitting and to construct the project. The Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA)/Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) established the PROTECT program to help make surface transportation more resilient to natural hazards, including climate change, sea level rise, flooding, extreme weather events, and other natural disasters through support of planning activities, resilience improvements, community resilience and evacuation routes and at-risk coastal infrastructure.
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- Replaced the under-sized culvert on Southworth Drive with a 16-foot wide box culvert;
- Removed bricks, contaminated industrial fill, and a concrete bulkhead;
- Created a tidal connection to the wetland east of the Olympiad culvert; and
- Added large woody debris on a newly shaped spit and installed plants.
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History of Harper Estuary
The Harper Estuary is a small embayment in southern Kitsap County with a rich local history tied to the native peoples and modern development in the area. Pocket estuaries and salt marshes, like Harper Estuary, are important to the Puget Sound nearshore ecosystem. These habitats are highly productive for fish and wildlife. Shallow protected waters fringed by salt marsh plants provide an abundant food source and refuge for juvenile salmonid and waterfowl species. The Harper Park and Pier are also a focal point for local community recreation and aesthetics. Harper Estuary has been impacted by fill associated with former development activities. A brick mining and manufacturing facility was built in the southwest portion of the estuary in the early 1900s (approximately where the Harper Park ball field is today). When the factory was abandoned in the 1940s, the buildings were demolished, with much of the material pushed into the estuary, accompanying “clinker” bricks and spillage from barge loading. Bricks associated with the history of Harper Estuary remain visible today.
The estuary’s natural functions have also been impacted by current and historic road fill, along with other fill material for the boat landing. Tidal influence is also restricted by an undersized culvert under SE Olympiad Drive. Prior to Olympiad Drive, fill and pilings associated with a drawbridge road approach and shoreline road also filled portions of Harper Estuary.
Why Restoration?
The Harper Estuary Barrier Correction is the final phase of restoration and is the culmination of more than a decade of hard work and collaboration by many partners. The Harper Estuary restoration project was selected by the Washington Department of Ecology (DOE) in 2013 for funding through the Natural Resource Damage funds associated with the Cleanup Settlement Account for the ASARCO smelter site in Tacoma. The restoration project was designed to build on former habitat restoration conceptual planning over the past decade (e.g. PSNERP 2011) and incorporate stakeholder and community outreach input for the final project design. In 2016, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife completed several restoration actions at the site, including the removal of a fill dirt boat launch, reconnection of a tidal wetland, removal of bricks and fill, and replacement of an undersized culvert under SE Southworth Drive, which was a fish passage barrier and a barrier to tidal flows. This site is a priority for restoration because small estuaries like this provide important rearing habitat for juvenile fish species, such as Chinook salmon, serve many other ecosystem functions, and contribute to the health of the community.
Harper Community Meetings
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April 3, 2020
| Community Conversation
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March 16, 2020
| Community Conversation
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November 21, 2019
| Community Conversation
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September 26, 2019
| Community Meeting on the Draft Harper Park Improvement Plan
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August 2019
| Draft Harper Park Improvement Plan
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June 2019
| Community Conversation
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May 20, 2019
| Community Conversations
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March 21, 2019
| Community Meeting
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February 24, 2019
| Walk-Shop Meeting
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January 30, 2019
| Community Meeting
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June 17, 2015
| Community Gathering
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April 6, 2015
| Community Gathering
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