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Water

Introduction

Drinking Water
	Drinking Water Quality
	Water Quality Report
	Water Conservation
	Backflow Testing

Storm and Surface Water
	Drainage Basins
	Floodplain Map
	Flood Prevention
	Keeping Waterways Clean
	Peamouth Minnows
	Salmon in the City
	Storm and Surface Water System Plan
	Stormwater Runoff Management
	Streams, Lakes and Wetlands
	Stream Team
	West Nile Virus

Peamouth Minnows

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May 9, 2012 Sighting:
Peamouth were sighted this afternoon in Kelsey Creek under the Wilburton Trestle. There were not as many fish as the first sighting on April 30, but they were actively spawning. We're never sure how long they will be in one spot. If you visit the site, please watch your step and be respectful of fish and wildlife.

Countless peamouth minnows return to Kelsey Creek in the spring to spawn. For 24 to 48 hours, the stream is thick with the usually elusive fish. Groups of peamouth have been observed one to four times every year from late April through June since 2004.

Volunteers in the Peamouth Patrol monitor Bellevue streams for the peamouth's arrival and track their numbers and wildlife when they visit. The city makes an effort to alert residents when the fish are around. Sign up for an Alert, and you will receive an email or text as soon as staff can post it when the peamouth arrive.

Unlike the stereotypical minnow, peamouth average a foot long. A Lake Washington fish, they can live an average of eight years. Unlike salmon, peamouth don't mind warmer water and lower stream levels in the spring.

Peamouth spawn in our streams, then return to the lake. The stream is plastered with gazillions of sticky little eggs that only take about a week to hatch.

The best spots to watch the peamouth are by Kelsey Creek, under the Wilburton Trestle and at the Mercer Slough Fish Ladder. Watch quietly at these sites and, in addition to the peamouth, you may see other wildlife looking for dinner, including blue heron, wood ducks, river otters and bald eagles.

Peamouth primer and directions to watching sites
Peamouth Report

Contact Information

Stream Team
Bellevue, WA 98009
Phone: 425-452-5200
E-mail: streamteam@bellevuewa.gov