This RFQ seeks a design consultant to design the 30% to 100% design plans associated with the (1) Chambers Creek Dam removal (2) Chambers Bay estuary bank and channel protection measures to include riparian and marsh restoration post dam removal, and (3) Sediment management post dam removal to minimize the impacts of environmental pollution in the Chambers Creek system and to manage the quantity of sediment deposited in the marina and channel to Puget Sound.

In 1933, the Chambers Creek Dam was built to assist in water withdrawal for Glacier Gravel Company and the Everett Pulp & Paper Company. The dam was constructed to create a water impoundment that would allow each of the companies to utilize the surface waters for their respective gravel mining and pulp/paper manufacturing operations. The Chambers Creek Dam is an earthen-filled dam. The dam’s spillway is concrete and slopes downward to the west. The sides of the dam are constructed of interlocking corrugated metal sheet pile. The dam has a crest length of 170 feet, a height of 22 feet, and a surface area of 5.0 acres. Fish ladders flank either side of the dam. In 2009, Pierce County conducted an inspection of the dam. The dam was found to have cracks in the concrete cap structure, the bottom was scoured, and sections in the lower sheet pile were missing or had holes. In 2012, a second fish ladder was added. Removing Chambers Bay Dam is a priority action for salmon recovery in Water Resource Inventory Area (WRIA) 12. Removal of the dam and restoration of Chambers Creek will address several threats to salmon recovery: loss of off-channel habitat, disconnection of the floodplain, alteration of natural flow regimes, loss of riparian function, and degraded habitat complexity and connectivity. In addition, the dam impedes fish passage, and its removal will directly benefit species such as Chambers Creek chum salmon, coho salmon, pink salmon, steelhead, cutthroat trout, and bull trout, as well as juvenile rearing populations of Chinook salmon, from all over Puget Sound on a shoreline between the Puyallup and Nisqually River deltas. Removal of the dam and restoration of the estuary will restore tidal and estuarine processes and provide approximately a 40% increase in habitat, more diversity of habitat, and more prey for priority salmon species. This project is an element of a larger effort to restore the Chambers Bay Estuary that involves the replacement of Chambers Creek Bridge. A separate RFQ led by Pierce County Office of the County Engineer has been produced to lead that stage of the project. Both projects will occur simultaneously to account for the impacts to tidal influence, differing hydrogeomorphology, and channel locations, which will evolve during the construction phases of the project. The County is initiating engineering design for D817 Chambers Bay Estuary Restoration. To support this effort, Pierce County is seeking an engineering firm to provide Preliminary and Final Design Engineering services for the project. This is anticipated to be a federally funded project and must adhere to the WSDOT Local Agency Guidelines. In 2023, Pierce County completed a Type, Size and Location (TS&L) study for the bridge replacement project, and in 2026 Pierce County completed a Comprehensive Implementation Strategic Plan (CISP). Both documents can be found on the project webpage here: Chambers Bay Estuary Restoration | Pierce County, WA - Official Website.