King County Flood Control District Supervisor Dave Upthegrove this week announced that $480,000 will be granted to the City of Tukwila by the King County Flood Control District to address erosion and stabilization efforts on the banks of Gilliam Creek, upstream of the 66th Ave South culvert inlet.
“Four years ago, when we created three new grants under the Flood Reduction Grant program we committed to a multi-pronged approach to address flooding issues in our communities,” said Upthegrove, who also chairs the County Council. “Today we are seeing more projects proposed in the Urban Streams grant category, like this project in Tukwila, that will do important work to secure streambanks which will, in turn, protect residents from future flooding risk while restoring vegetation and preserving wildlife habitat.”
Funding for the project comes from the Flood Reduction Grant Program, which this year awarded nearly $14 million to 31 projects across King County.
The program is funded by the King County Flood Control District, a countywide special purpose district intended to provide funding and policy oversight for flood risk reduction capital projects and programs in King County. The Flood Control District’s Board of Supervisors is its primary governing body and is composed of the members of the Metropolitan King County Council.
In 2020, the Board of Supervisors, including Upthegrove, took steps to reaffirm the District’s commitment to a countywide multi-benefit approach to flood risk reduction, and created three new grant programs in addition to the original Flood Reduction Grant program. The three new programs address the countywide flood issues associated with urban streams, coastal erosion/coastal flooding, and culvert replacement/fish passage restoration.
The original grant program remains and a total of four grant areas of interest are available under the Flood Reduction Grant Programs umbrella.