Summary

The King County Flood Control District on Tuesday approved its 2022 budget and six-year capital improvement plan, including $1.3 million aimed at reducing flooding of Issaquah Creek located in both the City of Issaquah and unincorporated King County.

Story

The King County Flood Control District on Tuesday approved its 2022 budget and six-year capital improvement plan, including $1.3 million aimed at reducing flooding of Issaquah Creek located in both the City of Issaquah and unincorporated King County.

Approval comes after Flood Control District Supervisor and Vice Chair Reagan Dunn took action to evaluate the need for additional flood protection along the creek after heavy rains caused a culvert to fail during the Presidentially declared flood disaster of February 2020. This failure caused historic levels of flooding in both Issaquah and Unincorporated King County, shutting down main thoroughfares like Issaquah-Hobart road.

"The February 2020 flood event highlighted the need to provide long term planning for protecting people and property along what is essentially a small river,” Dunn said. “With over 40 flood risk reduction facilities, Issaquah Creek is the largest creek in the county and warrants its own capital investment strategy, something that has not been looked at in decades. This effort will reduce the flooding risk and maintain access to adjacent roads in the event of heavy storm flows.”

The $1.3 million in funding will go to analyze the flood risk reduction needs on Issaquah Creek. This analysis will take an integrated flood plan management approach to ensure that the necessary enhancements are made to the flood reduction facilities along the creek.

“The 2020 flood was historic for Issaquah – one of the largest events we’ve seen in some time,” said Issaquah Mayor Mary Lou Pauly. “The downstream impact on our residents – as well as our natural and built environment – was heartbreaking, and further highlighted the need for flood reduction measures along Issaquah Creek. I’m grateful for the King County Flood Control District’s work to date, and future partnership to reduce flooding in our community.”

On the morning of February 6, 2020, rocks and soil spilled from a hillside due to heavy amounts of rain, causing a culvert to clog and debris to spill over Issaquah-Hobart Road. This closed a main thoroughfare for four days, not only stopping residents of Southeast King County from accessing many services, but also requiring 100 workers volunteer to clean up the road to get it reopened.

"Issaquah-Hobart Road provides an essential accessway to and from Maple Valley and the rest of Southeast King County,” said Maple Valley Mayor Sean P. Kelly. “It is encouraging to see this investment in flood reduction that will provide our residents reliable access to safe travel routes."

For more information on the King County Flood Control District, visit the King County Flood Control District webpage. For current information on County road closures, visit King County’s My Commute webpage. For current information on State road closures, visit the WSDOT traffic webpage. If you encounter standing water on an additional road, please notify King County Roads by calling 206-477-8100.

King County Emergency News provides information on how to respond in instances of flooding. Anyone with questions or concerns related to flooding should call the King County Flood Warning Center and Information Line at 206-296-8200 or 800-945-9263. In the case of a life-threatening emergency, call 9-1-1.