Green River flood safety meeting March 31

Open house, presentations provide public with latest details

Learn more about Green River flood safety and Howard Hanson Dam operations at a public meeting, March 31 in Auburn.

Sponsored by King County and the King County Flood Control District in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the meeting runs from 6-8 p.m. in the Lindbloom Student Center on the main campus of Green River Community College, 12401 SE 320th St., Auburn.

Storage capacity at the dam on the upper Green River is temporarily restricted while engineers evaluate damage to the structure’s right abutment that was discovered following the January 2009 flooding.

While the Corps notes there is no immediate danger to people and property in the Green River Valley below the dam, an increased risk of flooding is possible if a major rainstorm or significant snowmelt occurs because of the dam’s limited storage capacity.

The meeting will include an open house from 6-6:30 p.m., followed by presentations from 6:30-7:30 p.m., then close with a question and answer session from 7:30-8 p.m.

Scheduled presentations include:

• An update on the damage assessment, operational changes and possible river impacts by Mark Ohlstrum, chief of engineering and construction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers;
• The current status of emergency management coordination with location jurisdictions from Jeff Bowers, assistant director of the King County Office of Emergency Management; and
• King County Flood Warning Center operations, enhanced response activities, and what citizens can do to stay informed, from Katy Vanderpool, Green and White rivers basin coordinator for the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks’ Water and Land Resources Division.

Additional meeting information is available by contacting Vanderpool, at 206-296-8362, or katy.vanderpool@kingcounty.gov. Directions to Green River Community College are available at http://www.greenriver.edu/about/campus/directions/.

More details and history about the Howard Hanson Dam can be found at http://www.nws.usace.army.mil.

For more information about King County and the King County Flood Control District preparations and responses to the Howard Hanson Dam situation, and for flood planning links to affected cities, visit www.kingcounty.gov/floodplans, or www.kingcountyfloodcontrol.org.

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. Information is available at http://www.kingcountyfloodcontrol.org/.

Related Information

Flooding Services and Information

River and Floodplain Management Section

Water and Land Resources Division