Pacific Conservation District pitches neighborhood flood‑resilience projects for South Bend

Jackson Blaylock, a manager with the Pacific Conservation District, presented the district’s coastal and neighborhood resilience work and proposed near‑term projects for South Bend. He said the program—started in 2024—will identify "about 3 to 5 projects" the city can pursue with grant funding, and will produce a resilience strategy that local governments can use to pursue design and construction funds. "We're we're going to do about 3 to 5 projects," Blaylock said during the presentation.

Blaylock described three workshops held so far to map flooding and habitat priorities and said the team clustered findings into eight geographic focus areas, with downtown South Bend, the flats and sites near Highway 101 among the top priorities. He discussed potential measures including neighborhood rain gardens, bioswales, a strategic stormwater network on public rights‑of‑way, and a watershed hydrology and infrastructure study under the Washington Coast Restoration Resilience Initiative (WICRE) to produce initial 30%‑level deliverables. In response to council and resident questions, Blaylock said some grants are under development but larger capital work—such as daylighting a culvert on Central Avenue—will require additional funding and coordination with state agencies such as DOT.