The Green River only skirts Renton, but a vast section of the city’s southwest warehouse and industrial area is at risk in a major flood of the river.
That area is home to commercial uses and the northern end of the warehouse district in the Green River Valley that changes without notice between Kent and Renton.
The City of Renton and the Boeing Co. are taking the most visible steps to protect buildings and property against floodwaters in that area.
Boeing has protected its training center at Longacres with eight-foot HESCO barriers and is taking similar actions at its other facilities in the valley.
Earlier, King County decided to move its elections headquarters on Grady Way Southwest to Boeing Field. Some modeling indicated floodwaters could reach 10 feet deep at the headquarters in the worst-case flood scenario.
The county also is sandbagging low-lying areas of its sewage-treatment plant on Monster Road.
Renton could spend up to $800,000 on flood preparations. Already, the city has purchased a $29,000 piece of equipment to fill sandbags. Much larger equipment was rented to fill super-sized sandbags at Fire Station 14.
While the entire city isn’t at risk in a flood, city officials’ message to all residents is to prepare for the disruptions a flood could cause.
A flood, said Deborah Needham, the city’s emergency management director, “will have an impact on everyone to some degree.”
Roads normally traveled could close, forcing a search for alternatives, she said.
Updated emergency information is available at the City of Renton Web site rentonwa.gov and anyone can sign up for the emergency notification system that will give alerts via phone and e-mail about the status of roads and utilities.
Renton is protecting with supersized sandbags its Fire Station 14 on Lind Avenue Southwest that will serve as the staging area for the city’s response to flooding.
The city has been preparing a plan to make sandbags available to the public starting sometime this month, according to city spokeswoman, Preeti Shridhar.
Impacts on private citizens from floodwaters are mostly indirect, because there are few residential areas in southwest Renton. Potentially, however, a flood could cause sewage backups into homes, possibly extending beyond the valley floor. The most common question Needham said she is asked is what impact a flood would have on sewer service.
Homeowners are encouraged to consider installing a backflow cutoff valve on their sewer lines to prevent the backups. However, that means they also can’t use their toilets until the floodwaters recede.
The Renton School District has a handful of schools, including Renton High School, that could be affected by a flood. Potential disruptions include food service and a school’s sewage system.
Power outages could occur if floodwaters threaten key Puget Sound Energy facilities on the Valley floor. Outages could last until floodwaters recede; the extent of the outage would depend on what facilities, such as power substations, were affected.
Businesses need a plan to continue operations in a major flood, which could include moving critical work to higher ground. Even if a business is open, customers may not be able to reach them because of the floodwaters elsewhere, Needham said.
And, flood insurance for residences and businesses “is very important,” she said.
Even if Renton isn’t extensively flooded, it could see a surge of people fleeing floodwaters who are looking for a place to stay, eat or shop in relatively high ground.
RENTON: HOW TO PREPARE
EMERGENCY INFORMATION
WEB SITE: rentonwa.gov
CodeRED: Renton’s emergency notification system. Sign up at rentonwa.gov or call 425-430-7000 to request a registration form.
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