River work may have helped stave off flood
December 4, 2008
By Administrator
By Michael Bayless Rowe
It is impossible to say whether King County’s flood prevention efforts helped to keep the waters of the Snoqualmie River under control this year, according to Doug Williams of the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks.
The flood of 2008 was mild in comparison to the 1990 and 2006 high-water events. Snoqualmie Mayor Matt Larson noted at the Nov. 24 City Council meeting that his city was mostly spared of flood damage. He said that only one home reported intrusion by the flood into its living areas. Basements and crawl spaces were flooded, but this may be something that residents are getting used to and taking precautions to prevent property loss, the mayor said at the council meeting.
King County Flood Control District Supervisor Kathy Lambert, who represents Snoqualmie Valley, said in a press release that the 2008 repairs to the Mason-Thorson Levee helped to prevent flooding in North Bend.
“Our new projects performed well during the recent floods,” Lambert said. “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.”
Williams said that this year’s flood was a weird event. The flood happened quickly, but waters receded fast too. November is typically when the area’s rainy season begins, and when snow starts to fall in the mountains. The November rains and fresh snow-melts can swell local rivers like the Snoqualmie.
“The flows didn’t stay high for a very long time,” said Williams.
The 2008 flood was still a significant event in the watershed, Williams said. The Snoqualmie monitoring station reported flows of 45,200 cubic feet per second during the 2008 flood. By comparison in the 2006 flood the Snoqualmie monitoring station recorded flows of 55,000 cubic feet per second, and this was still far less than the 78,800 cubic feet per second recorded at the Snoqualmie monitoring station in 1990. Flood waters at the Snoqualmie monitoring station topped 50,000 cubic feet per second several times in the 1990s.
According to Williams, the initial assessment by the county indicates that the storm prevention work on the Snoqualmie performed well this year. Perhaps more importantly, the projects were not set back by new flood damage this year.
“Our initial assessment is that the work performed well during the floods,” Williams said.
After the 2006 flood, the county and Corps of Engineers identified approximately $33 million in needed repairs to levees and other flood control structures. The Army Corps of Engineers provided $23 million in funds for the King County Flood Control District, and $8 million has been received from other partners, a press release from the flood control district reported.
This year the flood control district completed ten capital improvement projects in the Snoqualmie and South Fork Skykomish Basin. Flood Control District Chair Julia Patterson credits the influx of funds to accelerating the improvements to levees.
“The work that is done every year is prioritized with the most urgent projects getting top billing. We get to those projects first because they require the most immediate attention. Those are the projects that need to get done to protect lives and property,” Williams said in a press release.
Reach reporter Michael Bayless Rowe at mrowe@snovalleystar.com or 392-6434, ext. 248.
Comments
3 Responses to “River work may have helped stave off flood”
Got something to say?
Before you comment, please note:
- These comments are moderated.
- Comments should be relevant to the topic at hand and contribute to its discussion.
- Personal attacks and/or excessive profanity will not be tolerated and such comments will not be approved.
- This is not your personal chat room or forum, so please stay on topic.
What saved the Valley from flooding was the fact that there was no snow at pass level..
It is truely wonderful that the flooding potential experienced this year did very little damage. It is also good to believ that the levees held and so little damage was done. But that doesn’t mean the danger is passed. Humans seem to have a very short memory when it comes to flooding.
In researching flood events around the US, here’s what I’ve learned:
1] The number of reported flood events has increased by a factor of 12 since 1950;
2] The increase in flood events is nearly the same in Europe, Asia, and Africa;
3] 60% of all damage from severe weather comes from flooding;
4] The cost of flood damage, in the US, averages around $30 billion annually and insurance covers only about 20% of the cost;
5] 75% of flood damage comes from water that is less than 3′ deep.
If you live where it has flooded before it will flood again. Flood control projects by organizations like the USACE take a decade and more to complete. Therefore, every flood threatened community must have an emergency flood protection system available. Sandbags are not the answer. The cost and resource destruction by sandbags is unsustainable at the increasing rate of demand. New systems are significantly less costly on a per use basis, can be deployed in less than 1/10th the time, and many of them require no disposal and pose no health, safety or environmental risks. You can see one new flood protection system at http://www.floodwalls.com.
It is good to see that even in the first year of the flood district levy that there are improvements. I like seeing that the tax dollars I pay are actually making a difference to protect people, homes and businesses. it is good to see other money coming in from the feds to help too. I did not expect the first year to solve all the problems and suspect that is why they have a multiple year plan – at least six years. Seeing things improve each year, I will be glad that this work is being done.