North Shore Levee team unveils ‘preferred’ alignment

The cities of Aberdeen and Hoquiam are teaming up on the massive project.

By Dan Hammock • December 7, 2016 9:00 pm
The general route for the North Shore Levee’s “preferred alignment.” The different colors represent different building materials: blue for concrete, yellow for sheet pile wall and orange for high ground, or earthen. The pink areas in the line are locations for stoplog closures, openings in the permanent dike to allow for street access that can be closed with temporary metal inserts if a flood is imminent.
The general route for the North Shore Levee’s “preferred alignment.” The different colors represent different building materials: blue for concrete, yellow for sheet pile wall and orange for high ground, or earthen. The pink areas in the line are locations for stoplog closures, openings in the permanent dike to allow for street access that can be closed with temporary metal inserts if a flood is imminent.

Members of the North Shore Levee Project team unveiled their “preferred alignment” at an open house Tuesday evening, saying it would protect 2,700 properties in Aberdeen and Hoquiam and potentially give property owners relief from increasingly burdensome FEMA flood insurance premiums.

“The goal is to protect as many properties as we can and remove as many properties as we can from the FEMA flood insurance requirement,” said Mike Stringer, planner and project facilitator with KPFF Consulting Engineers in Lacey. “The feds have increased flood insurance rates across the board since Hurricane Katrina; here locally, they have doubled.” He said research shows that property owners in Aberdeen have paid about $2.3 million in flood insurance to FEMA in the past year, while the agency has only paid about $500 in claims.

The cities of Aberdeen and Hoquiam are teaming up on the massive project, one that could have far-reaching effects on the area. The project, with a cost that has yet to be calculated and completion hinging on getting the state and federal grants that will eventually pay for it, would address the type of tidal flooding caused by high tides, winds and low pressure weather systems.

The levee would run along the west bank of the Wishkah River in Aberdeen, just north of Stewart Field down to Young Street/East Market Street, then south to the river bank at D Street. It would follow the west bank of the Wishkah until F Street, then turn westerly along the north side of the rail yard between the river and West State Street and follow the north side of the tracks all the way to North 22nd, where it would cut north to the west of the Harborena Skating Rink, then up the east bank of the Hoquiam River to 14th Street. It would run north from there, between the river’s east shore and 14th and end near where 16th Street turns into Broadway Avenue.

“This is not a set alignment, but the preferred alignment,” said City of Aberdeen Public Works engineer Kris Koski. He said 10 different designs were considered, taking into consideration cost, access, private property, aesthetics and the input of area residents. The preferred alignment, possibly with a few tweaks, will be sent to FEMA for approval in mid-February. The flood insurance burden has negatively affected property values in areas that require flood insurance. Relief would not come for residents until after the levee is completed, said Stringer; however, he notes an example in Mt. Vernon in Skagit County. Property owners there were having similar issues with flood insurance, seeing property values drop by 50 percent. Once the levee was completed and the flood insurance requirement dropped, property owners saw values rise to levels consistent to what they were before the flood insurance requirement was in place.

At Tuesday’s meeting, some property owners outside the proposed levee alignment expressed displeasure with what they saw as placing the value of property inside the levee above that of property on the outside. They also talked about other flood issues, such as rain and tide events that overwhelm existing stormwater systems. Aberdeen Mayor Erik Larson and City of Hoquiam Administrator Brian Shay reminded the 40 or so in attendance that the North Shore Levee is part of a much larger plan, the Timberworks Master Plan. That plan contains relief for other areas afected by floods as well, and will be considered at the next Aberdeen and Hoquiam city council meetings. Larson said the two plans are not in competition, but rather complement one another.

“I don’t think it’s fair to stop this project because it doesn’t cover your house,” said Larson. “I think it would be a disservice to the 2,700 homes that are protected by the levee.”

The levee would be built with the most cost-effective material suitable for each stretch, ranging from the cheapest – dirt – to concrete and the most expensive, sheet pile walls. The term “sheet piling” refers to using steel sheet sections with interlocking edges. The levee would also rely on existing right-of-ways, such as rail, so save cost. The levee will cut across some major streets. To allow access, those areas will be open the majority of the time, but can be closed off using “stoplog closures,” metal sheets that can be slid into place in the case of an impending flood event. The overall cost of the levee itself has not been calculated by the team as yet. “We haven’t looked at total cost yet and won’t until we nail down the final alignment,” said Steepy. “It won’t be a small number, but we don’t know that yet.” The cities will be mainly responsible for securing funding via mainly state grant programs, and various funding sources are being explored actively. As far as a time frame, if FEMA approval is received and funding can be secured, construction could begin as early as 2018.

The general route for the North Shore Levee’s “preferred alignment.” The different colors represent different building materials: blue for concrete, yellow for sheet pile wall and orange for high ground, or earthen. The pink areas in the line are locations for stoplog closures, openings in the permanent dike to allow for street access that can be closed with temporary metal inserts if a flood is imminent.

The general route for the North Shore Levee’s “preferred alignment.” The different colors represent different building materials: blue for concrete, yellow for sheet pile wall and orange for high ground, or earthen. The pink areas in the line are locations for stoplog closures, openings in the permanent dike to allow for street access that can be closed with temporary metal inserts if a flood is imminent.

North Shore Levee team unveils ‘preferred’ alignment

The general route for the North Shore Levee’s “preferred alignment.” The different colors represent different building materials: blue for concrete, yellow for sheet pile wall and orange for high ground, or earthen. The pink areas in the line are locations for stoplog closures, openings in the permanent dike to allow for street access that can be closed with temporary metal inserts if a flood is imminent.

North Shore Levee team unveils ‘preferred’ alignment

The general route for the North Shore Levee’s “preferred alignment.” The different colors represent different building materials: blue for concrete, yellow for sheet pile wall and orange for high ground, or earthen. The pink areas in the line are locations for stoplog closures, openings in the permanent dike to allow for street access that can be closed with temporary metal inserts if a flood is imminent.

Mark R. Steepy, Managing Principal of KPFF Consulting Engineers in Lacey, shows an illustration of the primary preferred alignment for the North Shore Levee in the area of East Market Street in Aberdeen. The yellow line shows the location of the concrete barrier, the pink lines show the locations of “stoplog closures,” which are normally open areas in the levee that can be closed with temporary walls when flood risk is imminent.

Mark R. Steepy, Managing Principal of KPFF Consulting Engineers in Lacey, shows an illustration of the primary preferred alignment for the North Shore Levee in the area of East Market Street in Aberdeen. The yellow line shows the location of the concrete barrier, the pink lines show the locations of “stoplog closures,” which are normally open areas in the levee that can be closed with temporary walls when flood risk is imminent.

Mark R. Steepy, Managing Principal of KPFF Consulting Engineers in Lacey, shows an illustration of the primary preferred alignment for the North Shore Levee in the area of East Market Street in Aberdeen. The yellow line shows the location of the concrete barrier, the pink lines show the locations of “stoplog closures,” which are normally open areas in the levee that can be closed with temporary walls when flood risk is imminent.

Mark R. Steepy, Managing Principal of KPFF Consulting Engineers in Lacey, shows an illustration of the primary preferred alignment for the North Shore Levee in the area of East Market Street in Aberdeen. The yellow line shows the location of the concrete barrier, the pink lines show the locations of “stoplog closures,” which are normally open areas in the levee that can be closed with temporary walls when flood risk is imminent.