The Cedar River Watershed provides drinking water to nearly 2/3 of the Greater Seattle Area, including all of King County and a portion of Snohomish County. This resource is owned and protected by the City of Seattle.

The Watershed Education Center will be used to support public education about the importance of the watershed, as well as natural and cultural resource programs. This is a locally driven effort to promote the value of the watershed and to further protect the area surrounding this resource.

Initial funding for the education center’s architectural and engineering costs have been paid for through a grant from Seattle Public Utilities. In addition, Friends of the Cedar River Watershed (FCRW), a local non-profit organization, has been working to raise private funds for completion of the project. Nearly $3 Million dollars has been pledged by the City of Seattle to begin construction, but a remaining $500,000 is needed from public and private sources in order for actual construction to begin. Stewardship Partners has provided $10,000 toward this effort.

FCRW has been working with the City of Seattle to include a portion of this funding in its annual budget. They have asked for assistance in securing additional funding from the federal government to allow construction to begin in the spring of 2000.