BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A local waterway cleanup effort has recently won a national award.

The American Public Works Association (APWA) awarded Bellingham’s Public Works for their Little Squalicum Estuary Project.

The project, completed in February 2024, connects the estuary with Bellingham Bay while improving water quality and restoring local habitat that had been lost due to development.

The estuary was connected after removing a fish passage barrier at the entrance to Little Squalicum Creek last September.

Bellingham Public Works won the award in the $5-25 million category for environment projects.