The Metropolitan King County Council Monday unanimously adopted a motion requesting Congress appropriate the funds needed for both an interim and permanent repair to the federally owned and operated Howard Hanson Dam.
Last week, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that if it can secure $44 million in federal funding, a grout curtain, which strengthened a dam abutment, can be extended. That repair would increase the flood protection offered by dam and decrease the likelihood of flooding in the Green River Valley back to 1 in 140, the same level of protection offered before January 2009.
The Howard Hanson Dam has provided flood protection for businesses and residents in the Green River Valley since 1961. The Green River Valley watershed, home to nearly 350,000 residents, is also the second-largest warehouse and product distribution center on the West Coast, representing $37.36 billion in gross business income, 4,500 businesses and more than 100,000 jobs.
FEMA recently estimated the potential losses from a single flooding in the region could exceed $3.7 billion.
“The threat of flooding in the valley has created enormous uncertainty and fear for residents, stalled economic development efforts, and cost the County millions of dollars for emergency management preparations,” said council member Julia Patterson, prime sponsor of the motion. “Securing full federal funding for both the interim and permanent fix must be a top priority for leaders at all levels of government.”
“King County is incurring costs to move its facilities, cities are incurring costs to prepare for flooding, the King County Flood District had to build a sandbag wall, businesses are trying to make long term decisions on where to locate and all of the uncertainty is hurting our economy,” said Councilmember Reagan Dunn. “None of this is necessary if the federal government simply fixes the Howard Hanson Dam. There should be no higher priority for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.”
The motion adopted by the County Council requests that Congress authorize an immediate appropriation for interim grout work and related repairs to ensure its completion before next winter. It also requests Congress appropriate sufficient funds to provide for permanent repair to the Howard Hanson dam, and direct the Army Corps of Engineers to make the Howard Hanson dam permanent repair a priority project and expedite their standard processes to assure the fastest and safest approach.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been working on interim repairs to the dam since the record rain of January 2009, when sinkholes and rapid seepage of water were discovered in an earthen abutment next to the structure. That work has involved the construction of a “grout curtain,” which consists of a concrete-like substance being injected into the earthen material to slow the flow of water. A permanent fix of the dam will require lining the abutment with a wall of concrete, which will take the federal government three to five years to fund, design and construct.
