The city of Kent and partners will celebrate the completion of the Mill Creek Side Channel at the Leber Homestead (near 7080 South 262nd St.) from 10 a.m. to noon on Thursday, Oct. 6. The public is welcome to attend.

City environmental ecologist Matt Knox said the project will improve salmon habitat and reduce flooding in the Green River and surrounding agricultural areas.

“This project provides a rest stop for migrating juvenile salmon,” Knox said. “By creating a side channel off of Mill Creek, salmon will be able to get out of the main Green River channel during floods and find food and cover during spring migrations. This channel is expected to increase the survival of salmon in the lower Green River.”

The project also provides 50 acre-feet of additional flood storage along the Green River, improving its flood carrying capacity.

Construction at the site will wrap up this week, with native planting scheduled for October and November.

State and county salmon restoration grants covered $2.4 million of construction costs, while the city drainage utility fund contributed $76,440 in matching funds.

Sponsors of the Mill Creek Side Channel/Leber Homestead Project include King County, the King Conservation District, Water Resource Inventory Areas (WRIA) 9, the state Recreation and Conservation Office Salmon Recovery Funding Board, the Puget Sound Acquisition and Restoration Fund and the Puget Sound Partnership.