Flood Control District awards $1.8 million for flood reduction projects in District 8

September 9, 2025

The King County Flood Control District on Tuesday approved $1.8 million in flood reduction grant funding for five projects in District 8.

Funding will go to projects on Vashon Island, in the South Park neighborhood, and the Duwamish Valley.

“Thanks to the work of critical community-based organizations, inter-governmental partners, and, of course, our incredible Flood Control District staff, these investments will provide much-needed contributions to the resilience of the people living and/or working in flood-prone areas,” said Teresa Mosqueda, Flood Control District Supervisor and King County Councilmember for District 8. “With funding from the Flood Control District, residents will receive education, infrastructure will be shored up, and habitats will be restored. I am honored to support our partners and constituents, and the greater public good, through the Flood Control District and its several grant programs.”

Projects in District 8 include:

• Judd Creek flash flood control on Vashon Island by Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust: This project will address climate-related stormwater flash in Vashon Island’s largest watershed. The project will use natural climate solutions to reduce the risk of flooding downstream.
• Duwamish Valley Industrial Greening by ECOSS: A project to address environmental inequities in South Seattle by working with Dirt Corps and partners of the Duwamish Valley Infrastructure Group to design and building community centric green stormwater infrastructure.
• Flood risk reduction in South Park by Seattle Parks Foundation: This project will develop a green infrastructure project at the South Park Neighborhood Center to reduce flood risks.
• Duwamish River and Hamm Creek dredging, stream restoration and water quality improvement by Duwamish Valley Yacht Club: This project will involve the dredging and removal of contaminated dredge spoils from the Duwamish River basin in the Hamm Creek estuary.
  
  

Funding for the projects comes from the Steve Bleifuhs Memorial Flood Reduction Grant Program, which this year awarded more than $14.8 million to 35 projects across King County.

In October 2024, the Flood Control District’s Board of Supervisors renamed the program in honor of Steve Bleifuhs, a long-time King County floodplain management leader. Bleifuhs, who passed away in July 2024, was instrumental in shaping flood hazard management in the county, including the development of the 2006 King County Flood Hazard Management Plan.

The program is funded by the King County Flood Control District, a countywide special purpose district intended to provide funding and policy oversight for flood risk reduction capital projects and programs in King County. The Flood Control District’s Board of Supervisors is its primary governing body and is composed of the members of the Metropolitan King County Council.

In 2020, the Board of Supervisors took steps to reaffirm the District’s commitment to a countywide multi-benefit approach to flood risk reduction and created three new grant programs in addition to the original Flood Reduction Grant program. The three new programs address the countywide flood issues associated with urban streams, coastal erosion/coastal flooding, and culvert replacement/fish passage restoration. The original grant program remains and a total of four grant areas of interest are available under the Flood Reduction Grant Programs umbrella.