### Meeting Overview The Whatcom County Council Climate Action and Natural Resources Committee met on July 8, 2025, for a 35-minute presentation by Public Works staff on flood mitigation projects completed since the 1999 Comprehensive Flood Hazard Management Plan. Paula Harris from Public Works presented an overview of eight major flood mitigation projects implemented over 25 years, including levee setbacks, creek restorations, and infrastructure improvements. ### Key Terms and Concepts **Comprehensive Flood Hazard Management Plan (CFHMP):** A county-wide planning document adopted in 1999 that identified flood risks and recommended mitigation projects throughout the Nooksack River system. **Levee setback:** Moving flood control levees farther away from waterways to provide more room for natural flooding and reduce erosion damage while maintaining protection for communities and farmland. **Self-regulating tide gate:** Modern flood control equipment with sensors that automatically open and close based on water levels, allowing better fish passage and drainage than older manual gates. **Flood plains By Design:** A grant program that funds large-scale flood mitigation projects that integrate habitat restoration with flood protection. **Alluvial fan:** A triangular deposit of sediment where a creek flows from mountains onto flatter ground, often creating flood risks due to changing water patterns. **Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP):** A federal program that provides payments to farmers for retiring environmentally sensitive land from production. **Debris flow:** A type of landslide where water-saturated debris moves rapidly down slopes, particularly dangerous in mountain valleys. **Drainage improvement districts:** Local government entities that manage water drainage systems for agricultural areas. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Paula Harris | Public Works Department - Flood Mitigation Program | | Kaylee Galloway | Council Member, Committee Chair | | Mark Stremler | Council Member | | Todd Donovan | Council Member | | Ben Elenbaas | Council Member | | Jon Scanlon | Council Member | | Barry Buchanan | Council Member | | Aly Pennucci | Deputy Executive | ### Background Context Whatcom County has experienced repeated flooding since the 1990s, causing millions in damages to farms, homes, and infrastructure. The 1999 flood plan was developed after major floods in 1989 and 1990, creating a roadmap for reducing flood risks throughout the Nooksack River watershed. These projects represent 25 years of implementation, totaling over $25 million in improvements with significant federal and state grant funding. The work becomes increasingly urgent as climate change brings more intense precipitation events to the region. The county's flood control system primarily protects agricultural areas using levees built in the 1950s that are now reaching the end of their useful life. Modern approaches emphasize working with natural systems rather than simply containing water, creating benefits for both flood protection and salmon habitat restoration. ### What Happened — The Short Version Paula Harris presented eight completed flood mitigation projects spanning 2005-2023, showing how the county has systematically addressed flood risks identified in the 1999 plan. Major accomplishments include the Bertrand Creek levee reconstruction ($340,000), Canyon Creek restoration ($5.6 million), Deming levee improvements, and the Jones Creek debris flow protection project ($5.5 million). These projects used innovative approaches like levee setbacks, log jams for energy dissipation, and self-regulating tide gates that benefit both flood protection and fish habitat. Council members discussed connecting this flood work to comprehensive planning decisions about where to locate future growth. They also raised concerns about drainage district maintenance challenges due to environmental permitting requirements that are affecting agricultural operations. ### What to Watch Next - Comprehensive Plan discussions at the July 22 Committee of the Whole meeting will integrate flood risk mapping with growth planning decisions - Continued implementation of the updated Comprehensive Flood Hazard Management Plan with several large projects in development - Resolution of drainage district permitting issues that are affecting agricultural operations and flood management ---