Puyallup River Flood Protection Near Orville Road
In the 1950s and 1960s, levees and revetments were installed along the Puyallup River near Orville Road. Pierce County has since used numerous approaches to reduce flood risk, including: • Gravel and woody debris removal • Replacing and repairing damaged levees • Purchasing properties prone to flooding • Regulatory reforms Environmental regulations adopted over the past two decades have made some of these approaches very difficult.
After studying the issue, Pierce County has determined the most cost effective means of protecting people and critical infrastructure (roads, utilities) is to move people and infrastructure out of harms way by purchasing properties prone to flooding from willing sellers. Due to limited funding, it will take time to get high risk properties removed. In the meantime, Pierce County is prioritizing and planning flood risk reduction projects. 2006 Puyallup River flooding near Orville Road
After major floods in 2006 and 2009, Pierce County prioritized the Neadham Road side of the Puyallup River for levee repair, replacement and reinforcement, because Neadham Road residents were not able to safely evacuate during flooding.
In the short term, purchasing all of the properties along Neadham Road was not feasible. Those flood events helped Pierce County better understand the extreme river dynamics in the area. The damaged levee was replaced with a “cutoff levee.” This levee uses both traditional and natural approaches to reinforce the area where the river breached the levee previously.
By using buried engineered log jams and car- sized rocks, Surface Water Management is establishing an area that should withstand most 2010 construction of Neadham Road levee setback major floods and reduce flood risk. Similar approaches are being used on upcoming projects on the Orville Road side of the river.
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5 P LU SK YAL FI PU B Phase B: Install three engineered log jams along the Phase G: Install existing levee to create smaller side channels that are about 610 feet of levee FO X C R less erosive and provide salmon habitat. Design will and 1,050 feet of discontinuous
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Address: 2702 S. 42nd St. Suite 201, Tacoma, WA 98409 Phone: (253) 798-2725 Fax: (253) 798-7709 Email: [email protected] Website: www.piercecountywa.org/swm
Please use the space provided to take notes during the presentation.