Climate change is no longer just a thing of the future — it is here now.

This was the message King County Executive Dow Constantine and members of county staff delivered during a media tour last Friday. The tour focused on the local impacts of climate change.

Constantine said indicators such as low snow pack in the mountains, the high heat this past summer and more frequent and devastating wildfires throughout the state are just a dress rehearsal of what’s to come.

“The trends my staff have looked at are troubling,” Constantine said.

DEATH BY A THOUSAND CUTS

The tour began at Sixty Acres Park in unincorporated King County near Redmond, with county scientists discussing the Sammamish River.

Jim Simmonds, supervisor of water quality and water quantity for King County, said the county has been tracking stream flows and measuring water pollution for “many years.” He said when they identify any sort of pollution, they can take action.

This year, Simmonds said they have seen some “alarming trends” as many streams they have been monitoring are at their lowest flow level — which is not surprising as this summer, the area saw more 90-degree days than ever.

In addition to measuring pollution and water levels, the county also measures water temperatures.

Debra Bouchard, a water quality planner for the county, said the ideal water temperature is 60.8 degrees Fahrenheit. She said the area streams have been out of compliance since May as on average, the water has been about 78 degrees.

For salmon, anything warmer than 62.6 degrees becomes stressful.

Kollin Higgins, an environmental scientist for King County, said this can lead to the fish stopping their migration. In addition, the warmer temperature increases fish’s metabolism, which makes them breathe faster and bring toxins into the water more quickly. This leads to more fish that are runts as they are unable to grow to their full size, Higgins said.

With higher temperatures, as well as lower water levels, he said contaminants in the water become more concentrated. The fish become concentrated and crowded, as well, since there is less water for them to swim in — leading to more diseases being transmitted among the fish. In addition, Higgins said warmer water contains more dissolved oxygen, which is not good for fish, either.

Higgins said there is not one single thing that is inhibiting the salmon population recovery process — all of these aspects are affecting it. He described it as “death by a thousand cuts,” adding that climate change just makes those cuts deeper.

THOSE MOST AFFECTED

In addition to affecting local fish and wildlife, the impacts of climate change also affects people.

Beth Lipton with Public Health – Seattle & King County said one way people are affected is an increase in insect-borne diseases. She said they are seeing more diseases in the western hemisphere that have not been seen here before such as Dengue fever, though it is the warmer-climate areas such as the southern part of the country that is seeing these illnesses.

In addition, she said the most vulnerable populations feel the effects of climate change the most. For example, those with mental health issues can become more stressed in more extreme weather — especially in cases in which they are displaced by disasters such as flooding or wildfires.

Climate change has also led the county’s office of emergency management (OEM) to change the way it operates.

“This challenge is a challenge of scale and requires a comprehensive approach,” Constantine said.

OEM Director Walt Hubbard said one of the actions they have taken include adjusting the educational information they provide to the public and making sure they share as much with the community as possible.

REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE — WATER

During last Friday’s tour, Constantine said with these impacts of climate change, “there’s less margin of error” when it comes to taking action. And some of those actions to keep water temperatures low include planting trees along riverbanks to provide shade for the waterways.

In addition, Constantine said King County has a recycled-water program, which provides a reliable and sustainable, drought-proof system that can be used to water play fields, golf courses and more as well as for irrigation.

“As long as people keep flushing, we’ll have this resource,” he said.

Although the water is highly treated, it is not drinkable, Constantine and other county staff stressed.

One example in which this system is currently used is the fields at Sixty Acres Park.

Prior to implementing this system, water was being pulled from the ground, which in turn, would lower the area river and stream levels.

Kristina Westbrook, recycled water program manager for the county, said by using recycled water, they are saving about 40 million gallons of water that can now remain in the ground and consequently, in the rivers. She added that in addition to saving water, the recycled water contains nitrate and phosphorus, which helps the county save on having to purchase and use fertilizer.

YOU, TOO, CAN PREVENT FOREST FIRES

In the final leg of last Friday’s tour, Constantine and county staff showed how citizens living in more rural and wooded areas can help prevent wildfires and protect their property by visiting Woodinville resident Jan Hunt.

Hunt and her neighbors’ homes are situated within a wooded area. When she moved in about 20 years ago, she knew something had to be done about the woods.

“I knew things weren’t healthy, but I didn’t know what to do about it,” she said.

Eventually, Hunt sought out the county to learn what she and her neighbors could do to keep their neighborhood and properties safe from wildfires.

Linda Vane with the county’s forestry program said the county can work with forest landowners to educate them on how to keep the plant life on their land healthy, which makes them more resilient in the case of a wildfire.

Some of the measures Hunt took included replacing her lawn with natural vegetation, cutting trees back about five to six feet from her home, pruning and maintaining the vegetation on her property and keeping her roof as clean as possible from dried pine needles as those can act as fuel for fires.

Vane added that a forest with a dense canopy can be dangerous as sun cannot shine through and that leaves a lot of dead material — or fuel for fires — on the forest floor. In addition, she said adding compost to the soil helps it retain water better, which causes things to decay faster, leading to less dead material on the forest floor.

While the county can help residents come up with plans and strategies to keep themselves and their properties safe, Vane said they can also help connect residents with tax-reduction programs, grant opportunities and other money-saving ways to accomplish these goals.