District staff brief committee on integrated floodplain management and project prioritization white paper

Michelle Clark, Executive Director of the King County Flood Control District, briefed the Executive Committee on April 2 about a draft Integrated Floodplain Management and Capital Project Prioritization white paper and the timeline for adopting a prioritization policy.

The white paper, developed with King County Water and Land Resources Division staff and the District Advisory Committee, proposes prioritizing projects primarily on flood risk reduction, the consequence of inaction (urgency), legal obligations and opportunities for multiple benefits such as habitat protection, equity and community resilience. Clark said the advisory committee will meet monthly through August to help apply the policy to the district’s six-year capital improvement program and that the committee provided few changes to the draft.

"Flood risk reduction. It's our raison d'etre. It is why we are here," Clark said during the briefing, summarizing the paper’s central organizing principle. The white paper includes a glossary to standardize risk terminology across jurisdictions and acknowledges commitments to consult tribes and partner agencies when projects or permitting intersect with tribal treaty rights or state and federal requirements.

Clark described the timeline: the full Board of Supervisors will receive a briefing on the white paper on May 13; staff expect the board to consider adopting a capital project prioritization policy on June 10; after adoption, staff will start applying the policy to 2026 projects and iteratively to the rest of the six-year CIP. The 2025 budget also directed staff to prepare a proposed bonding policy by April 17, 2025; the contract and accounting adjustments approved at the committee meeting were cited as work needed to support that analysis.

Committee members flagged geographic equity as a key tension: some basins flood frequently while other areas could face catastrophic consequences if a rare event occurs. One member asked how conflicts between local jurisdiction priorities and countywide prioritization would be resolved; Clark said King County technical staff will take a countywide view and that project lists will remain fluid, with inspections and local reports moving projects up or down the list when conditions change.

The advisory committee’s recommendation will be transmitted to the board in August along with proposed 2026 budget and CIP recommendations; staff described the forthcoming work as a heavy lift that will apply first to 2026 projects.

The briefing did not change current budgets; it establishes a policy framework and schedule for future project selection and budgeting.