Nov. 14, 2008 Major public safety, construction and repair projects are completed ahead of scheduleSafety improvements better prepare King County for flood season. Heavy rains and flooding on King County rivers this week are a stark reminder of the importance of flood protection in our region. The King County Flood Control District (Flood District) initiated an ambitious work plan this year, starting 55 projects to minimize the impacts from life-threatening and property-damaging floods during our region’s fall flood season. The projects range from capital improvements on aging levees to the relocation of residents from flood-prone areas in order to protect public health and safety and to strengthen existing flood protection structures. Twenty-four projects are anticipated to be complete by the end of 2008; the majority of them are high- priority repairs from the devastating November 2006 flooding. The other 31 are large-scale, multi-year projects to protect residences, businesses and the regional economy. More than $23 million in funding from the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) allowed the Flood District to accelerate its work. After the floods of late 2006, King County and the Corps identified $33 million in needed repairs. In addition to the $23 million from the Corps, the Flood District received another $8 million from other partners. “King County is making excellent progress in the repair of our compromised levees,” said Flood Control District Board Chair Julia Patterson. “The 24 projects completed in our first year would have taken about 17 years to complete without the additional funding from the Flood District and from our federal partners. We are also on-target for 2009—thanks to the hard work of the Water and Land Resources Division of the King County’s Department of Natural Resources and Parks and to our strong partnership with the Army Corps of Engineers.” The Flood District’s 2008 work included: • Two dozen capital improvement projects completed. Workers finished construction of 10 projects in the Snoqualmie and South Fork Skykomish Basins and repaired eight sinkholes in the South Fork Snoqualmie area, five projects in the Green River Basin, four in the Cedar-Sammamish Basin and one project on the White River. Additional projects will be completed by year’s end in the Green and Snoqualmie/South Fork Skykomish Rivers. • Land acquisitions to support capital projects and move people out of harm’s way. The Flood District purchased property interests in nearly 200 parcels of property so that necessary improvements to reduce flooding can get underway. This includes easements at several flood damage repair sites throughout the county and the acquisition of the 20-acre Cedar Grove Mobile Home Park and several adjacent parcels in the Rainbow Bend area of the Cedar River. Negotiations are underway at other flood-prone locations along the Cedar, South Fork Skykomish, and White Rivers. These efforts not only strengthen existing flood protection facilities, but also improve public safety. • Relocation of 41 families from the Cedar Grove Mobile Home Park underway. Last March, the Flood District purchased the 20-acre, flood-prone mobile-home park in Maple Valley—an area that in the 1990s experienced severe flooding three times—and worked with housing advocates to relocate 41 families to comparable but safer housing. The site will be returned to its natural state as a floodplain, which will reduce flood velocities and volumes that threaten residents as well as Highway 169, the Cedar River Trail, and fiber optics infrastructure. “Our new projects performed well during the recent floods,” said Flood Control District Supervisor Kathy Lambert, who represents the Snoqualmie Valley. “This year’s repairs to the Mason-Thorson Levee, on the Snoqualmie River, were important in helping to prevent flooding in North Bend. Our work is making a difference already.”
“While the Flood District has accomplished a great deal this year, we’re already thinking about 2009,” said Flood Control District Board Vice-Chair Reagan Dunn. “We want to ensure that the county continues to meet our targeted deadlines and make the safety improvements necessary to protect people, homes and commerce.” King County Executive Ron Sims said, “These improvements will better protect residents and their properties—as well as businesses and commerce—for decades to come.” King County’s flood protection system features more than 119 river miles of levees in 25,000 acres of floodplain. Within that area lies property assessed at more than $7 billion. The Flood District’s Advisory Committee recently presented its unanimous 2009 recommendations to the Board of Supervisors, which will approve the 2009 work plan in this month. The Water and Land Resources Division of the Department of Natural Resources and Parks will implement the final recommendations. The proposed work program includes 20 new projects along with 31 projects initiated in 2008 and can be reviewed at www.kingcounty.gov/environment/waterandland/flooding/flood-control-zone-district/governance/advisory-committee.aspx. For more information about how the King County Flood Control District and how it prepares for and responds to flooding, visit www.kingcountyfloodcontrol.org or www.kingcounty.gov/flood. # # # The King County Flood Control District is a special purpose government created to provide funding and policy oversight for flood protection projects and programs in King County. The Flood Control District’s Board is composed of the members of the King County Council. The Water and Land Resources Division of the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks develops and implements the approved flood protection projects and programs. Related Information Flooding Services and Information River and Floodplain Management Section Water and Land Resources Division
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