Project Engineers for the North Shore Levee Project convened at the Rotary Log Pavilion on Tuesday, Dec. 6, to present a proposed levee system that would include dikes, floodwalls, raised roadways, and pump stations aimed at providing flood protection for both the cities of Aberdeen and Hoquiam.
The North Shore Levee Project is a piece of a larger program called TimberWorks. TimberWorks is a restoration plan that has been under discussion for about a year, part of which involved assessing flooding issues and identifying projects that could help to reduce flood risk. Another aspect of the TimberWorks restoration plan involves enhancing fish and wildlife habitat as well as increasing recreational opportunities.
This meeting was a follow up to the previous Sept. 20 meeting, and topics ranged from survey questionnaire results to results from hydraulic modeling. The meeting's main focus, however, were the steps involved in submitting information to FEMA in order to obtain a conditional letter of map revision (CLOMR). The CLOMR is the first step towards eventually getting areas of Aberdeen and Hoquiam removed from the FEMA-determined floodplain and eliminating mandatory flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program.