BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Future water quality projects in Whatcom County will be getting a big boost from the Washington State Department of Ecology.

Projects range from watershed maintenance and habitat restoration along the Nooksack River, to stormwater retrofitting in Lynden and bacteria prevention in Lake Whatcom.

The Department of Ecology awarded over $4.7 million in grants to the county for many of those projects.

Over $2.6 million in low-interest and forgivable loans are also being provided to tackle the rest of the costs associated with some of the projects.

Work on all the projects is scheduled to start in 2024.