Environment reporter Lynda Mapes dove into Seattle’s Elliott Bay, and found some big changes

Kim Malcolm

John O'Brien

August 08, 2025 / 6:18 pm

It's peak tourism season in downtown Seattle. Residents and visitors have been celebrating the $800 million dollar makeover of the waterfront. Is the same true for residents and visitors under the surface of Elliott Bay? To consider that question, KUOW’s Kim Malcolm reached out this week to environment reporter Lynda Mapes. The two took a shallow dive into Mapes’ most recent piece for the Seattle Times, "The vibrant world under Seattle’s new waterfront."

Kim Malcolm: Lynda Mapes started our conversation by telling me about her actual dives into Elliott Bay.

Lynda Mapes: "I went in the water with Jason Toft from the University of Washington

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