County presents preliminary Point Roberts drainage study; identifies 89 problems and prioritized projects

Whatcom County and its consultant Tetra Tech presented preliminary results of a drainage study for Point Roberts, reporting 89 distinct drainage problems across the peninsula and a suite of proposed responses ranging from maintenance to capital projects. Eric Abra, the county project manager leading the effort, told the committee the study was commissioned after a maintenance backlog created by border closures in 2020 and major flood events in 2021.

"So the study began in 2023, so it's been a little over a year now since we started all this work," Eric Abra said during the presentation. Consultants described a five-step approach: review existing records, watershed characterization, hydraulic modeling, problem identification and prioritization into maintenance, small works and capital projects. Alex Whitaker, the water-resources engineer contracting for the county, said the team used maintenance logs and more than 3,000 field data points from community survey responses to locate problem hotspots and run hydraulic models that generally matched reported flooding.

The team reported the model identified 20 distinct regional flooding areas across several subwatersheds and recommended 16 capital projects that would address multiple problems. Whitaker cautioned that the study is a fact-finding exercise, not a design or construction plan, and that implementation timelines and costs will depend on permitting, archaeological constraints and contractor availability. County staff said phase two and a final drainage-management plan are expected this winter, with a tentative presentation in January 2025.