StormReady designation rewards King County's nationally-acclaimed work serving flood-prone areas

King County's efforts to protect people and property in flood-prone areas have already earned the highest Community Rating System (CRS) rating of any county in the United States. Today, King County's CRS rating will get an additional lift, which is more good news for the county's flood insurance policyholders.

Designation as a StormReady community today by the National Weather Service will qualify King County for additional points in the Federal Emergency Management Agency's CRS program. The program already recognizes King County's outstanding floodplain management program with a Class 4 CRS rating. This rating means flood hazard insurance policy holders in unincorporated King County save 30 percent on annual premium costs, averaging more than $125 per policy per year.

"No county in the nation has a better CRS rating than King County and we are committed to keeping it that way," said King County Executive Ron Sims. "So we are pleased that this designation not only boosts the Taking Winter By Storm campaign, but also our programs that maintain and improve public safety in King County's floodplains, reduce damages, and help us keep flood insurance premiums down for residents in chronically-flooded areas."

King County has earned its national reputation from things like emergency operations of its Flood Warning Center which, when rivers rise to certain levels, alerts citizens, other public agencies and businesses, and responds to citizens' inquiries on a 7-day, 24-hour basis with information on flooding, road closures and other flood-related data such as weather forecasts and dam operations.

King County's Flood Hazard Reduction, Surface Water Management and Capital Improvement programs are continually engaged in projects to reduce flood hazards. Under these programs, King County maintains, reconstructs, and retrofits levees, buys out or elevates chronically flooded homes, and updates flood hazard maps to identify areas at risk from flooding and channel migration.

Just this year King County, the City of Snoqualmie, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers celebrated completion of a multi-million dollar river-widening project that will significantly reduce the threat of devastating floodwaters to Snoqualmie, the most flood-prone community in the state. By reducing the frequency, duration and depth of flood water, the project is expected to prevent damages estimated at $837,000 per year and provide benefits for more than 650 flood-prone structures in the Snoqualmie area, including three public schools, eight churches and 602 homes.

The county has successfully leveraged federal and state disaster funds to acquire 34 chronically-flooded homes since 1990; 31 of those since 1995. Eighty-eight percent of the acquisition costs, or $5.4 million, was leveraged from federal and state grant funds.

All flood buy-out homes are demolished and removed from the floodplain, thereby providing improved flood storage and conveyance, as well as riparian corridor open space. What's more, since 2000 the county has helped rural residents elevate 11 homes over FEMA's 100-year floodplain elevation standard.

King County's Flood Hazard Reduction program maintains more than 500 flood protection facilities, which help protect citizens and property owners from major river flooding. County staff work year round to inspect, repair and monitor these facilities, which reduce flood damages and protect public safety along King County's major rivers. The major river systems in King County are the South Fork Skykomish, Snoqualmie, Sammamish, Cedar, Green and White. Since 1990, the county has repaired or upgraded 180 flood protection facilities at a cost of more than $17 million. More than $10 million of that total was leveraged from federal, state and other grant funding.

In the last three years alone, the Flood Hazard Reduction Section has finalized five major levee repair projects costing more than $1.5 million on the lower Green River within the Green River Flood Control Zone District. These five bank stabilization projects were completed to repair and significantly enhance the structurally stability of the Desimone, Pipeline, Segale, Narita, and Fenster levees as a result of damages sustained during flood events in 1995 and 1996, while at the same time providing floodplain habitat restoration.

King County provides storm and surface water services and water quality management services in both the urban and rural areas of King County. The Water and Land Resources Division's Stormwater Services Section conducts inspection, maintenance, repairs and retrofits to flow control ponds, vaults and pipes during the summer to prepare for the rainy season. Services include updating the County's design standards for stormwater facilities, inspection and maintenance of public stormwater facilities, inspection of private stormwater facilities, enforcement of the County's drainage and water quality codes, and investigation of drainage, flooding, erosion and water quality problems reported by citizens.

Improvements to the county's Stormwater Services have resulted in bigger and better facilities being more closely monitored and maintained. Improvements have included more timely response and resolution to flooding, erosion, and drainage issues. The county's improved Surface Water Design Manual, which sets the standards for design of stormwater facilities required on new developments, is now the template for dozens of jurisdictions across Western Washington and is a nationally recognized model.

For more information about how King County prepares for and responds to flooding, please visit our Flooding Topics Web site at: dnr.metrokc.gov/topics/flooding/FLDtopic.htm.