A $717,255 grant to the city from the King County Flood Control District will help with flood protection and salmon habitat along the Green River in Kent as part of the Downey Farmstead Restoration project.
Crews will relocate Frager Road along the former Downey farm site away from the river’s edge to near the north side of State Highway 516 to allow for creation of a side channel network and expanded floodplain, according to a county media release. Work is expected to start in spring 2016.
“This project provides enormous environmental and flood protection benefits for Kent and the Green River,” said Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke. “It’s a win-win. A win for fish and for people. This funding will help provide ‘rest stops’ for salmon during high water flows, as well as safe refuge during the spring run-off.
“With the ability to plant more trees, we’ll shade the river and keep water temperatures cooler, especially during hot summers like the one we are having now. And for those of us concerned about flooding, this project will also provide additional floodplain storage to lower the flood level.”
The project area is vacant and undeveloped. Most of the site is overgrown with dense invasive vegetation such as blackberries.
The King County Flood Control District on Monday announced $1.5 million in grants for 10 projects aimed at improving water quality, protecting and restoring habitat, and supporting salmon recovery efforts in the Green/Duwamish and Central Puget Sound watersheds. The area is collectively called Water Resource Inventory Area 9 (WRIA 9).
The funding will go to local organizations who are working to improve water quality and protect salmon. The grants will be matched with an additional $2.5 million of funding.
“These WRIA grants play an important role in the all-over health of our region’s ecosystems,” said Flood Control District Chair Reagan Dunn. “Healthy watersheds mean a healthy future for our salmon and our communities. I am proud of the role the Flood District plays in supporting these habitats.”
The WRIA 9 Revegetation project will receive $250,000 for the “Green the Green” partnership. Businesses and environmental organizations will work together to implement a revegetation strategy that will address water temperature and riparian habitat concerns in the Green/Duwamish River.
“We at Water Resource Inventory (WRIA) 9 deeply appreciate the dedicated funding and partnership with the Flood Control district,” said Marlla Mhoon, Covington City Councilmember and Co-Chair WRIA 9 Ecosystem Forum. “With FCD support, the coalition of King County and 15 cities in the Green/Duwamish watershed are able to leverage millions of dollars in state, federal and private entity monies to fund truly multi-benefit projects.
“These projects provide the highest levels of flood protection, increases in river capacity, restoration of iconic Chinook salmon habitat, increases public access to the river and nearshore as it improves water quality.”
Cities, towns, special districts, public schools, King County, federally recognized tribes and non-profits are eligible to apply for the grants.
The Flood Control District Executive Committee oversees project selections and King County’s Water and Land Resources Division administers the grant allocation process.
County property owners pay a tax of 10 cents per $1,000 assessed valuation to fund the flood district.
Visit KingCountyFloodControl.org to view a list of the 10 WRIA 9 projects approved for funding.
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