Snohomish County distributes $2M to two cities for flood risk reduction projects

(The Center Square) – The cities of Stanwood and Marysville are being awarded a combined $2 million from Snohomish County for their efforts in addressing harms posed by potential flooding.

The $2 million stems from the county’s American Rescue Plan Act funds and was guided by the Office of Recovery and Resilience.

The City of Stanwood is being given $1.75 million for its Diking District 7 Fish Passage and Levee Improvements Project. The project seeks to repair an existing levee that is over 100 years old and protects roughly 2,200 acres of agricultural land as well as restore nine acres of tidal wetlands for wildlife habitat. according to the county. However, Stanwood’s project ultimately requires $7 million to repair the levee. Stanwood Mayor Sid Roberts said that the allocated federal funding will help leverage other needed funds from other jurisdictions.

“Rebuilding the 110 year-old dike will help prevent catastrophic damage to fertile farmland as well as the displacement of many residents and also prevent millions of dollars in the potential destruction of property,” Roberts said in a statement.

The City of Marysville is receiving $250,000 for its Public Works & Wastewater Treatment Plant Flood Risk Reduction Project. The city plans to determine future impacts of sea level rise on the existing levee system through this project. It will also look to see the impact of rising sea levels on the city’s only wastewater treatment plant.

Over the last decade, significant king tide cycles have begun to threaten our public works facilities,” Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring said. “This grant will allow the City of Marysville to make scientifically informed decisions about the impacts of future sea level rise on this critical infrastructure and best plan for improvements to protect our public health, our natural environment and the Marysville community.”

The grant was announced by Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers in December 2022. He said that aging infrastructure throughout the county has made many residents one storm away from losing their homes and possessions in a flood and sought to use more federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars on projects that mitigate risk posed by potential flooding.