Center partners

The Center for Urban Waters brings together environmental scientists, analysts, engineers and policymakers who are developing creative and sustainable solutions to restore and protect Puget Sound. The founding partners – the City of Tacoma and the University of Washington Tacoma – are committed to providing a collaborative environment where the best-available science forms the basis for policy development and implementation. The Center for Urban Waters is the result of years of work by community leaders who dreamed of a world-class research center on Commencement Bay dedicated to finding solutions for urban bay communities.


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Environmental Services

City of Tacoma

The Environmental Services department protects and restores natural resources, keeping our city clean, safe and livable through garbage and recycling pickup, wastewater treatment, household hazardous waste disposal, protection from stormwater pollution and much more. The City of Tacoma also manages the CUW building.


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Scientific Research

University of Washington

UW Tacoma professors, researchers, and students seek to understand and quantify the sources, pathways and impacts of chemical pollutants in urban waterways. Researcher scientists and staff at the Puget Sound Institute, which publishes the Encyclopedia of Puget Sound, focus on restoration science across the Salish Sea watershed.