CWA earns CLC’s Cascade Agenda Leadership Award Recipient

Cascade Water Alliance recently was recognized by the Cascade Land Conservancy (CLC) as a Cascade Agenda Leadership Award winner, along with the City of Redmond, King County, the Port of Seattle, Puget Sound Energy, and Sound Transit, for purchasing and keeping in public use the former BNSF Rail Corridor.

May 13, 2010 2:46 pm
Cascade Water Alliance board members and alternates recently accepted the CLC award. From left: Hank Margeson
Cascade Water Alliance board members and alternates recently accepted the CLC award. From left: Hank Margeson

Cascade Water Alliance recently was recognized by the Cascade Land Conservancy (CLC) as a Cascade Agenda Leadership Award winner, along with the City of Redmond, King County, the Port of Seattle, Puget Sound Energy, and Sound Transit, for purchasing and keeping in public use the former BNSF Rail Corridor.

The award celebrates the role of community leaders in linking great communities, a healthy environment and a strong economy. The CLC recognized the recipients for their effort to secure the BNSF corridor for future public use at its annual breakfast today.

The Port of Seattle announced its acquisition of the BNSF corridor from BNSF Railroad in December. Cascade Water Alliance invested in the project to secure easements for possible future facilities and water infrastructure.

“This was an easy decision for us,” says Cascade CEO Chuck Clarke. “It just made sense for us to join with the other public agencies interested in future use of the corridor. Each of us had a good reason to invest our public funds in the corridor, and in the end, the public wins too by keeping the corridor intact.”

The Cascade Land Conservancy is the largest land conservation and stewardship organization in the state. CLC partners with communities to protect and restore parks and trails and help cities make smart choices about growth. Over 1900 guests attended the organization’s 2010 annual awards breakfast.

“It’s an honor to be recognized by the CLC. The Cascade Land Conservancy proves over and over that partnerships work. Our partnership with the other organizations to secure the BNSF corridor is a win/win for all of us,” adds Lloyd Warren, Chair of the Cascade Water Alliance Board of Directors and Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District Commissioner.

Cascade Water Alliance is a non-profit corporation, comprised of the cities of Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Issaquah, Tukwila, the Covington Water District and the Sammamish Plateau and Skyway Water and Sewer Districts to provide safe, clean and reliable water to its 370,000 residents and 22,000 businesses.

For more information on Cascade Water Alliance visit www.cascadewater.org.