For the Reporter
The Washington State House of Representatives released their proposed capital construction budget March 23, including $4.9 million for multi-benefit floodplain management projects in Kent through the Floodplains by Design initiative.
If the Senate agrees with this level of funding, people in Kent and nine other communities throughout Washington will be safer and salmon habitat will get a boost. The money would be administered through the Washington Department of Ecology’s competitive Floodplains by Design grant program.
Funding would allow King County Flood Control District to replace and upgrade the existing levee to provide a higher level of flood risk reduction. The funding would also be used to restore 60 acres of floodplain, including planting more than 4½ acres of riparian buffer; improve salmon habitat; and improve public access by integrating the new levee, road and reconnected floodplain with existing parks, trails and open space.
Boeing Levee/Russell Road was one of the top-ranked projects this year, selected for the multiple benefits it will deliver including flood risk reduction, fish habitat restoration and other community priorities. Floodplains by Design champions a collaborative approach to meeting multiple objectives with limited public dollars.
A coalition of advocates, from counties and cities to businesses and The Nature Conservancy are seeking $50 million in state capital budget dollars for the innovative Floodplains by Design program.
“I am thrilled that the House recognized the tremendous benefits and long-term cost savings that Floodplains by Design and Boeing Levee/Russell Road represent to the region,” said Mark Isaacson, with the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks. “I hope that the Senate supports funding for the flood risk reduction and habitat benefits that Floodplains by Design provides.”
“As our climate changes and catastrophic flood events increase in both intensity and frequency, it is critical for Washington to take common sense steps that protect both communities and wildlife,” said Mike Stevens, Washington State Director of The Nature Conservancy. “That’s why the Conservancy, Department of Ecology and the Puget Sound Partnership developed Floodplains by Design – to support holistic, cost-effective approaches to floodplain management.”
Talk to us
Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.
To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.
