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

The historic flooding that impacted King County from December 8 through December 30, 2025, demonstrated both the power of area rivers and the importance of investing in flood risk reduction infrastructure.

During the prolonged flood event, several new flood records were established across the county. Rivers remained at elevated levels for weeks, communities faced significant flood threats, and flood risk reduction facilities throughout King County were tested by some of the most challenging conditions in the region’s history.

Yet despite the severity of the flooding, there was no loss of life from flooding in King County. That outcome reflects the dedication of emergency responders, local governments, residents, partner agencies, and decades of flood risk reduction investments made by the King County Flood Control District.

Response to the Historic Flooding

The December 2025 flood damaged nearly 170 flood risk reduction facilities across King County, underscoring the importance of maintaining and improving the more than 500 flood protection facilities that help protect communities throughout the county. These extreme river conditions reinforced the need to prepare for increasingly severe weather events and highlighted the value of coordinated emergency response efforts.

Following the historic flood, the King County Flood Control District moved quickly to support emergency response and recovery efforts. On February 10, 2026, the Board of Supervisors approved a supplemental budget amendment that allocated nearly $3 million for emergency repairs completed during the flood event.

While emergency projects were funded throughout King County, most of the allocation supported critical emergency actions along the White River. The White River experienced some of the most demanding flood conditions in King County during December 2025. Prolonged high flows from the atmospheric river conditions combined with sustained releases from Mud Mountain Dam placed tremendous pressure on flood risk reduction infrastructure, particularly in areas near Pacific and Auburn where HESCO barriers and other emergency measures played a critical role in reducing flood risks.

Emergency response efforts focused on protecting neighborhoods, maintaining critical infrastructure, reducing flood threats to homes and businesses, and restoring damaged flood risk reduction facilities before additional storms could worsen conditions. In total, six White River emergency projects received approximately $2.62 million in funding through the supplemental budget amendment.

Strengthening Critical Flood Risk Reduction Facilities

Several of the funded projects centered on emergency actions taken in and around the City of Pacific and the City of Auburn.

At the Government Canal facility, owned and operated by the City of Pacific, crews responded to a damaged floodgate system designed to reduce backwater flooding and allow stormwater to drain into the White River. The emergency project, led by King County as service provider to the King County Flood Control District, replaced the damaged floodgate with a more resilient design, repaired associated flood protection features, improved access for emergency operations, and provided additional pumping capacity during future flood seasons.

One of the largest emergency investments addressed damage to flood risk reduction facilities surrounding Pacific City Park. During the flood event, sustained releases from Mud Mountain Dam contributed to conditions resulting in a breach of HESCO barriers near the park. Emergency crews mobilized heavy equipment, installed supersacks, pumped floodwaters from affected areas, excavated drainage features, and constructed secondary containment barriers to reduce flood risks to nearby neighborhoods.

Additional emergency repairs were undertaken in Pacific between the BNSF railroad bridge and Government Canal. Crews installed more than 1,500 feet of new containment barriers, constructed an emergency push-up levee, repaired damaged HESCO barriers, restored stormwater conveyance systems, repaired damaged utilities and public infrastructure, and completed extensive site restoration work.

Investing in Community Resilience

The White River emergency projects demonstrate the importance of preparedness, rapid response, and continued investment in flood risk reduction infrastructure.

When historic floodwaters threatened communities, Flood Patrol teams, emergency responders, engineers, contractors, local governments, and partner agencies worked together to protect people, property, transportation networks, utilities, and public infrastructure. Their efforts helped save lives, reduce flood impacts, and strengthen facilities before subsequent storms could create additional threats.

Many of the locations highlighted in this blog later received additional repairs and improvements as part of the King County Flood Control District’s broader flood recovery program. Those post-flood projects represent the next phase of recovery following the historic December 2025 flood, which will be highlighted later this summer. So, be sure to return for a new three-part blog series that will explore the projects funded immediately following the December 2025 flooding and highlight how those investments are helping restore and strengthen flood risk reduction facilities across King County.

This concludes our three-part series highlighting emergency projects implemented during the historic December 2025 flooding and 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.