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City Efforts
Project for Puyallup
River Basin
Impact: Long-term
Status: Ongoing
On May 17, 2010, Sumner City Council authorized the
Mayor to enter an agreement with Pierce County
obligating up to $73,290 from the City to help fund a $6
million study to develop a plan for long-term flood
damage reduction. This is an investment in the
long-haul, but it's something Sumner has to do as flood
walls and sandbags have only limited scope. This effort
also gets Sumner at the table with people like the Corps
of Engineers who hold so much of the control over what
can and can't be done in and around the river.
Flood District
Impact: Long-term
Status: Passed by Pierce County Council
On May 4, 2010, Pierce County Council passed legislation
establishing a new taxing district within the entire
county for flood protection. The law got signed in
on May 26 and went into effect on June 5. This law
just establishes the District and sets the Pierce County
Council as the District's Board of Supervisors.
This does not establish a new tax itself. Many
Pierce County cities contested their
proposed inclusion, so on July 22, Mayor Enslow sent a
letter to Pierce County expressing Sumner's support and
opposition to any city withdrawing from the District.
The City Council echoed these statements with
Resolution 1304. On October 25, the Pierce County
Boundary Review Board signed off on a district that
encompasses the entire county. This decision could
still be appealed to County Superior Court.
Link to Pierce County & track history of legislation
Mayor's Letter to Pierce County
(PDF)
Resolution 1304
(PDF)
PCTV Feature on Flood Control, featuring Mayor Enslow
(WMV VIDEO)
Puyallup River
Executive Task Force
Impact: Mid- to
Long-term
Status: Ongoing
Pierce County formed this group of cities,
county and others meets to assist with finding and
funding a regional solution for the entire Puyallup
River Watershed. Pierce County formed this group
to ensure local agencies understand the problem and
support finding a solution; work closely with affected
agencies to develop alternatives and select an
alternative; cooperatively seek funding and construct
and maintain the selected alternative. City of Sumner
always participates, but the meetings feature public
comment sections. It's very powerful for all
jurisdictions to hear from the citizens of Sumner who
are directly affected by the Puyallup River. More
information about these meetings.
Flood Wall
Impact: Intermediate
Status: Stalled, lack of property owner
participation
The City designed a flood wall as an intermediary tool
to keep smaller floods from coming into the Riverwalk/Rainier
Manor area. However, the homeowners association of
Riverwalk said no to it. As it does no good to
build only half a wall that holds back nothing, this
project is now stalled and/or no longer an option.
Sandbags
Impact: Temporary
Status: Continuing
In Fall 2009, Pierce County donated use of a sandbag
machine, labor and materials to offer sandbags to
residents to stack. They also put some in place
along Rainier Manor area as time allowed. The City is
still looking at extending that sandbag wall more before
next fall.
Sandbag Machine
Impact: Temporary
Status: Ready when needed
The machine the City borrowed to fill sandbags got sold,
so Sumner invested some money and a lot of ingenuity
from the Shops employees to build our own sandbag
machine which is now complete.
What about
dredging/scalping/sand bar removal?
In April 2009,
the Sumner City Council passed
Resolution No. 1261
expressing City Council support for dredging critical
portions of the Puyallup and White Rivers to protect
adjacent communities and facilities. However, it's
not the City that can dredge a river. Dredging
requires a complicated permit process from a number of
State and Federal agencies, most of which typically
frown on the process. One of the key benefits of
Sumner's participation in the County Flood Management
Committee is that it keeps working on flooding with
those agencies.
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What YOU Can Do
The
National Weather Service reports that this is a La Niña
year, which means a colder, wetter winter with a
historically higher possibility of lowland snow. Flooding
is dependant on a number of factors, but they are suggesting
that the probability of flooding in both the Puyallup and
White Rivers will be higher during this weather cycle.
In
preparation for the winter weather, we recommend that you
take some time to
check your household's emergency
plans. Here are links to some great websites to help
you prepare for severe weather in advance:
Take Winter by Storm
Red Cross
In addition,
you may want to monitor weather closely. Here is the
link to the
1.
National Weather Service Seattle.
Keep an Eye on the Rivers
Sumner can be affected by the Puyallup and White Rivers.
Hydrographs help show you the current and expected levels of
the rivers. Although there are no gauges right at
Sumner, the following links help you monitor the rivers.
Puyallup River 1
Puyallup River 2
White River
When the Puyallup River reaches 30 ft,
it is considered a flood. Sumner and East Pierce Fire
& Rescue open the Emergency Operations Center when the river
reaches 20 ft.
Stay Informed
If you don't already get the City's Flood Protection
e-newsletter, you can sign up for it
by clicking here.
You can also
view past issues here.
Get Involved
As you can tell by the regional items listed under City
Efforts, a lot of the efforts that will have the biggest
results happen at the County level. The City
represents its residents and businesses, but hearing
straight from the people affected often has much more
impact.
Be Alert
You can now ask Pierce County to send you alerts not
only to landline (traditional) phones but also to cell
phones, via text message or to an email address.
Sign up here
Be Prepared
It's always a good idea to be prepared for any
emergency, including flooding. Pierce County has a number of
tips and a lot of information to help you get started.
Take a look
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