By Steven Schauer, Deputy Executive Director, and King County Staff

In recent months, the King County Flood Control District shared a three-part blog series highlighting emergency flood response projects (Cedar River, Green River, and White River) funded through a supplemental budget amendment approved by the District Board of Supervisors on February 10, 2026. Those projects focused on emergency actions taken during the historic December 2025 flood to protect people, property, and critical infrastructure as floodwaters surged across King County.

This three-part blog series also focuses on the supplemental budget amendment approved on February 10, 2026, but highlights a different category of work: projects of immediate concern that were implemented after the worst of the flooding had passed. While emergency response projects were carried out during the flood itself, these immediate repair projects took place from late December 2025 through April 2026 to address damage caused by the flooding and restore critical flood protection facilities before additional storms could occur.

These repairs were especially important because King County remained in the middle of flood season. Damaged levees, revetments, and other flood risk reduction facilities needed to be repaired quickly to maintain protection for communities, infrastructure, and the environment. The importance of these repairs became clear when additional flooding occurred in March 2026, demonstrating the need to restore damaged facilities as quickly as possible.

This is the third and final blog in the series highlighting immediate repair projects funded on the White River.

A Historic Flooding Event

Flooding has always been part of life in King County, but the 2025–2026 flood season demonstrated just how powerful and destructive our rivers can become.

Between December 8 and December 30, 2025, King County experienced a generational flood event that tested flood protection infrastructure, emergency response systems, and communities throughout the region. The flood damaged nearly 170 flood protection facilities across King County, underscoring the importance of maintaining and improving the more than 500 flood risk reduction facilities that help protect people, property, infrastructure, salmon habitat, and the environment.

Despite the severity of the flooding, there was no loss of life from flooding in King County, which is a testament to the dedication of emergency responders, local governments, residents, and decades of investment in flood risk reduction.

Supporting Immediate Recovery

Recognizing the urgent need to restore damaged flood protection facilities, the District Board of Supervisors approved nearly $7.3 million in February 2026 for immediate repair projects completed between late December 2025 and April 2026.

Of that funding, $3,220,000 supported five immediate repair projects on the White River. These projects addressed damage that posed risks to flood facilities, public infrastructure, and nearby communities while helping ensure flood risk reduction facilities remained functional during the remainder of the flood season.

Government Canal HESCO Barrier 2025

One of the immediate repair projects occurred at Government Canal in the City of Pacific.

During the December flood, White River floodwaters eroded sections of the canal banks and threatened the integrity of the floodgate and pump station that help prevent White River floodwaters from backing up into the canal and flooding portions of the city.

King County coordinated with the city to conduct emergency repairs to their floodgate. The immediate repair project rebuilt the floodgate structure using a more resilient design that includes steel H-piles, steel plates, wing walls, and new gate valves. King County crews and contractors also replaced damaged HESCO barriers and strengthened flood protection features surrounding the facility.

These improvements help the Government Canal system reduce flood risks for residents, businesses, and infrastructure during future flood events.

This immediate project received $210,000 in supplemental funding.

Oravetz School Revetment 2025 Emergency Install

The December flood revealed seepage at the Oravetz School Revetment, with dozens of seepage locations observed during the event. Emergency actions were taken to help stabilize the revetment.

To further address this concern, King County crews installed a 540-foot-long seepage blanket (i.e., a layer of crushed rock installed to manage groundwater movement) on the landward side of the levee as part of the immediate repair project. The seepage blanket allows water pressure within the levee to be safely relieved while preventing the movement of soil that can lead to internal erosion and failure.

The immediate repair project reduces flood risks to nearby businesses, recreational areas, transportation infrastructure, and a preschool located adjacent to the project area.

This immediate project received $750,000 in supplemental funding.

City of Pacific HESCO Barrier 2025 Breach Emergency Repair

One of the largest recovery investments addressed the breach of the HESCO barrier system near Pacific City Park that occurred during the December flood.

Emergency repairs took place during the flood. Following the flood, the immediate repair project involved crews constructing new secondary containment HESCO barriers, stabilizing the Pacific City Park revetment, excavating and stabilizing drainage features, cleaning stormwater facilities, repairing existing HESCO barriers, restoring damaged utilities, and completing extensive site restoration work.

These improvements help reduce future flood risks for residents and businesses in Pacific while strengthening the community’s overall flood risk reduction system.

This immediate project received $1,000,000 in supplemental funding.

Roegner Park HESCO Barrier 2025 Emergency Construction

The project is located at Roegner Park within the City of Auburn on the left bank of the White River between 6.35 and 6.65. This area received funding for emergency repairs during the flood to help stabilize the situation.

For the immediate repair project at Roegner Park and along portions of the White River Trail, King County crews replaced HESCO barriers and installed new flood risk reduction HESCO barriers in strategic locations. The project also included site stabilization and restoration work to ensure the park and trail remained safe and accessible.

This immediate project received $940,000 in supplemental funding.

White River Right Bank Upstream of A Street 2025 Emergency Construction

This is another immediate repair project in Auburn, which also received funding for emergency repairs during the flood.

Upstream of the A Street Bridge, the immediate repair project included King County crews replacing existing double-stacked HESCO barriers, extending the flood risk reduction alignment farther upstream, stabilizing disturbed ground surfaces, and restoring access routes used during construction.

This immediate project received $320,000 in supplemental funding.

Investing in Recovery and Resilience

The December 2025 flood demonstrated both the importance of King County’s flood risk reduction infrastructure and the need to act quickly when facilities are damaged. By funding these immediate repair projects, the King County Flood Control District enabled King County to restore critical flood risk reduction facilities before additional flooding occurred later in the flood season.

These repairs are part of a larger recovery effort that continues to strengthen the County’s resilience to future flood events while protecting communities, infrastructure, salmon habitat, and the natural environment.

This concludes our three-part series highlighting the immediate repair projects funded through the King County Flood Control District’s February 2026 supplemental budget amendment. We encourage you to continue visiting our blog, where new stories are published every Thursday to share important information about the King County Flood Control District’s projects, partnerships, flood risk reduction efforts, and investments that help protect communities throughout King County.

Later this year, be sure to return for another three-part blog series highlighting the urgent repair projects funded through a supplemental budget amendment approved by the King County Flood Control District’s Board of Supervisors on April 28, 2026. Those projects are currently underway across King County and are being targeted for completion before the start of the 2026–2027 flood season in October.