Summary

The King County Flood Control District on Wednesday approved $150,000 in grant funding for flood reduction work in Maple Valley.

Story

The King County Flood Control District (FCD) on Wednesday approved $150,000 in grant funding to support the City of Maple Valley’s flood reduction project to replace a culvert at SE 254^th Place and Witte Road. These funds were a part of $3.35 million in 2020 Flood Reduction Grants that the FCD awarded across 23 projects. 

“This culvert replacement will not only bolster flood protection on a critical roadway, but it will also provide passage and habitat for fish populations,” said Flood Control District Vice Chair Reagan Dunn. “I’m glad that the Flood Control District is backing this critical project.”

As part of the larger Witte Road expansion project, the $150,000 Flood Reduction Grant will go toward the replacement of an undersized and deteriorating culvert that conveys South Fork Jenkins Creek under SE 254th Place. The existing culvert has caused a backwater condition within South Fork Jenkins Creek and overtopping at the intersection of 220th Ave. SE and Witte Road SE. The replacement of this culvert will remove the last significant flow barrier along this section of South Fork Jenkins Creek, which is expected to reduce flooding and restore passage for a fish bearing stream.

“This grant allows us to both improve fish passage up Jenkins Creek as well as reduce the flooding impact upstream,” said Halley Kimball, SWM/NPDES Program Manager with the City of Maple Valley. “This project completes our proposed work on the South Fork Jenkins Creek corridor.”

In its seventh year, the Flood Reduction Grant program funds smaller non-Capital Improvement Plan projects supporting local communities including cities, homeowner associations, school districts, businesses, and non-profits. The program provides grant funding for projects with flood reduction benefits, including but not limited to, surface water overflows, near shore flooding, lake flooding due to outflow blockage, or the clearance of clogged agricultural drainage systems.