Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Juneau leaders say Army Corps pulled earlier direction on lake‑tap tunnel after charrette; staff urge stronger advocacy
Summary
City staff warned of far larger possible glacial outburst floods after a USACE charrette and said Army Corps headquarters recently rescinded prior directional support for a lake‑tap tunnel, limiting current federal commitment to expanded flood‑fighting and re‑examining all alternatives. City officials asked the community and congressional delegation to press for an enduring solution.
Mayor Weldon convened the Committee of the Whole on Feb. 23 for a technical briefing on glacial outburst flood (GLOF) risk and long‑term mitigation options following a December Army Corps of Engineers charrette.
Director Koch said the Army Corps and its consultants — including AECOM and University of Alaska Southeast scientists — modeled a worst‑case peak flow that could reach about 118,000 cubic feet per second (CFS), a “scary” peak value that combines potential GLOF contributions with extreme precipitation and atmospheric‑river influences. Koch noted prior events the city has experienced: an approximately 34,000 CFS event in August 2023 that affected about 30 homes and an approximately 42,000 CFS event in August 2024 that inundated roughly 300 homes. She said HESCO Phase 1 barriers deployed in 2025 protected many locations but were not designed to stop the largest modeled events.
Koch described the charrette’s technical comparison of options and said a lake‑tap tunnel — a gravity‑fed intake in Suicide Basin with a roughly 2.3‑mile tunnel and 10‑foot internal diameter — was the preferred…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
