Greater Lake Ballinger/Mcaleer Creek Watershed Study
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Greater Lake Ballinger/McAleer Creek Watershed Study STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN Project #31325 By Otak, Inc. Golder Associates, Inc. Clear Creek Solutions, Inc. EnviroIssues July 10, 2009 Preface The Lake Ballinger/McAleer Creek Watershed Forum Staff Committee is pleased to present this Strategic Action Plan addressing water flow, water quality and habitat preservation options for the Lake Ballinger/McAleer Creek Watershed. This document was commissioned by the Lake Ballinger/McAleer Creek Watershed Forum under the authority of an Interlocal Agreement for jurisdictions within the greater Hall Lake, Hall Creek, Chase Lake, Echo Lake, Lake Ballinger, McAleer Creek Watershed. The Watershed Forum represents six local jurisdictions within the Watershed including Edmonds, Lake Forest Park, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Shoreline and Snohomish County. The Strategic Action Plan is the product of collaborative discussions among elected officials, jurisdictional staff, regulatory agencies local interest groups, local homeowner associations and concerned citizens. The Action Plan offers a suite of options to local governments in the Watershed Forum to address local surface and surface water issues. It is both a conceptual strategy and an associated action plan for addressing identified water resource issues and enhancing the natural functions in a highly developed urban watershed. Please note that the Action Plan provides guidance and is not a binding legal document. Each jurisdiction can choose to adopt or implement any or all of the recommendations according to their current capital and operational programs. Opportunity for additional public input will be available as the member jurisdictions consider the Plan. Citizens, businesses and non-profit organizations have and will continue to play a vital role in implementing many of the actions and may be asked or encouraged to participate in actions on their own. The Forum Staff Committee would like to thank the State Legislature and the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) for assistance in developing the Action Plan. The Action Plan process was funded by a $200,000 legislative appropriation that was administered by Ecology. Acknowledgements Participating Agencies City of Edmonds City of Lake Forest Park City of Lynnwood City of Mountlake Terrace City of Shoreline Snohomish County Department of Ecology Forum Members City of Mountlake Terrace: Jerry Smith, Mayor Forum Chair City of Lake Forest Park: Don Fiene, Councilmember Forum Co-Chair City of Edmonds: D.J. Wilson, Council President City of Lynnwood: Lisa Utter, Councilmember City of Shoreline: Janet Way, Councilmember Chris Eggen, Councilmember Snohomish County: Marcia Isenberg, Chief of Staff, County Council Staff Committee Members City of Edmonds: Jerry Shuster, P.E., Stormwater Engineering Program Manager City of Lake Forest Park: Aaron Halverson, Engineering and Stormwater Technician City of Lynnwood: Jared Bond, Environmental Program Manager City of Mountlake Terrace: Mike Shaw, Stormwater Program Manager City of Shoreline: Rika Cecil, Environmental Program Coordinator and Brian Landau, Surface Water and Environmental Program Manger Snohomish County: Gene Williams, Surface Water Management Department of Ecology: Doug Wood, Water Resources Program Lake Ballinger/McAleer Creek Forum Strategic Action Plan otak Acknowledgements Additional City Representatives City of Edmonds: Noel Miller, P.E., Public Works Director City of Lake Forest Park: Dave Hutchinson, Mayor David Cline, City Administrator Neil Jensen, City Engineer City of Lynnwood: Bill Franz, Public Works Director City of Mountlake Terrace: John Caulfield, City Manager Curt Brees, Public Works Director City of Shoreline: Jesus Sanchez, Public Works Operations Manager Funding for this project was provided by the Washington State Legislature through Department of Ecology Grant No. G0900058. Lake Ballinger/McAleer Creek Forum Strategic Action Plan otak Table of Contents Section 1—Introduction ........................................................................................ 1 Section 2—Approach: A Watershed Based Strategy ....................................... 9 Section 3—Watershed Characterization .......................................................... 13 Section 4—Development/Selection of Potential Actions .............................. 21 Section 5—Elements of the Strategic Action Plan .......................................... 28 Section 6—Implementation of the Strategic Action Plan ............................. 37 Section 7—Action Initiatives ............................................................................... 42 Section 8—Summary and Conclusions ............................................................ 48 Section 9—References ........................................................................................ 49 Appendices Appendix A: Governing Documents • Interlocal Agreement • Budget Note • Ecology Grant Appendix B: Lake Ballinger Fact Sheet Appendix C: Public Process • Stakeholder Interviews • Forum and Public Meeting Presentations • Anecdotal Information Received from Public • List of People Providing Comments at March 24 and May 26 Forum Meetings Appendix D: Technical Memorandum #1—Watershed Characterization and Analysis Appendix E: Technical Memorandum #2—Planning and Pre-Engineering Strategies and Costs Appendix F: Project Selection and Evaluation Process Appendix G: Draft Strategic Action Plan Comments Lake Ballinger/McAleer Creek Forum Strategic Action Plan otak Section 1—Introduction This document presents the Strategic Action Plan for the Greater Hall Lake, Hall Creek, Chase Lake, Echo Lake, Lake Ballinger, and McAleer Creek Watershed. It is both a conceptual strategy and an associated action plan for addressing identified water resource issues and enhancing the natural functions in a highly developed urban watershed. Project Location The “Watershed Area” for this project covers the drainage areas for Hall Lake, Hall Creek, Chase Lake, Echo Lake, Lake Ballinger, and McAleer Creek. Lake Ballinger is located in south Snohomish County within the Cities of Edmonds and Mountlake Terrace. The full Watershed Area encompasses 5,249 acres. Approximately 3,566 acres of urbanized area drains into Lake Ballinger. This includes portions of the Cities of Lynnwood, Edmonds, Mountlake Terrace and Shoreline as well as a portion of unincorporated Snohomish County. McAleer Creek, Lake Ballinger’s only outlet, travels through the cities of Mountlake Terrace, Shoreline, and Lake Forest Park, where it flows into Lake Washington (Figure 1-1 and 1-2). Lake Ballinger/McAleer Creek Forum 1 Strategic Action Plan otak Puget Sound LYNNWOOD 196Th St SW ¦¨§405 EDMONDS ¦¨§5 (!99 Main St Hall Larch Way 212Th St SW Lake Logan Road 76Th Ave76ThW 5Th Ave S M O U N T L A K E Chase TERRACE Lake UNINCORPORATED SNOHOMISH COUNTY 48ThAve W 236Th St SW BRIER BOTHELL 104 (! 84ThAve W Lake SNOHOMISH COUNTY Ballinger N E 2 0 5 t h S t KING COUNTY Ballinger Way NE SHORELINE Lyon Echo Creek Lake LAKE FOREST PARK (!99 61st Ave NE N 1 7 5 t h S t McAleer Creek Legend 68th Ave NE McAleer Creek Watershed Bothell Way NE Lake City Boundary KENMORE Washington County Boundary ¦¨§5 Major Arterial N 1 4 5 t h S t 15thN EAve 1NE 4 5 t h S t Streams SEATTLE LAKE BALLINGER WATERSHED STUDY STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN FIGURE 1-1 ³ VICINITY MAP 0 0.5 1 Miles APRIL 2009 K:/project/31325/GIS/mxds/Strategic Action Plan LYNNWOOD EDMONDS (!99 Main St ¨¦§5 Hall 212Th St SW Lake Larch Way 212Th St SW 76ThAveW MOUNTLAKE TERRACE Chase Lake 48ThAve W UNICORPORATED SNOHOMISH CO. 228Th St SW 84ThAveW 236Th BRIER 236Th St SW 104 Lake (! Ballinger S R 1 0 4 N E 2 0 5 t h S t SNOHOMISH COUNTY KING COUNTY MCALEER CREEK WATERSHED Ballinger Way NE Echo Lyon Creek Lake LAKE FOREST PARK SHORELINE 61st Ave NE (!99 N 1 7 5 t h S t McAleer Creek ¨¦§5 N E 1 7 5 t h S t Legend McAleer Creek Watershed Bothell Way NE City Boundary County Boundary Lake Major Arterial Washington 15th Ave NE Streams Parcel Boundary NAIP Photography 2006 LAKE BALLINGER WATERSHED STUDY STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN 0 0.5 1 FIGURE 1-2 Miles STUDY AREA Disclaimer: The information shown in this map is assembled GIS data created and acquired by Otak Inc., and from City of ³ Lake Forest Park GIS. This data is not to survey accuracy and is meant for planning purposes only. APRIL 2009 K:/project/31325/GIS/mxds/Strategic Action Plan Section 1—Introduction Continued Project Background Lake Ballinger has a history of flow control that goes back to a 1942 Superior Court Order calling for installation of a weir to set lake levels and control shoreline flooding. In 1982, the Superior Court Order was readjudicated and a lake restoration plan was developed to address ongoing lakeshore flooding issues, as well as water quality issues related to 40 years of development in the lake basin. However, flooding has continued to be a problem for a number of lakeside property owners during large storm events. Downstream in the City of Lake Forest Park, extensive commercial and residential properties have been periodically damaged in the Towne Centre and Sheridan Beach neighborhoods. Four of the six participating jurisdictions have reported major flooding within the watershed during large storm events. Financial loss due to flooding has been substantial during storm events for many residents and businesses in the watershed. In the December 2-3, 2007 event alone between $150,000 and $250,000 in damage to homes was experienced on Hall Creek and Lake Ballinger (City of Mountlake