Welcome

 Hi Neighbor,

My wife and I moved to the Rim in 1999, in 2004, we decided we wanted a bigger house, and found the perfect one right in the Rim, or so we thought.  We had a contingent offer on one of the houses that the county just tore down, and thankfully, our current home didn't sell, so we didn't close on the flood house as we came to call it.

So I really sympathize with our neighbors who's homes are affected by flooding in the Rim, there but for the grace of God...

Anyway, the HOA board of trustees has decided to re-form the flood committee, and I've volunteered to chair it.

I'll be sharing information on this blog, so please give your suggestions on what you'd like from the flood committee as far as information and action.

Best regards,
Dan Covey MPM, PMP
425-785-4217

If Ability is the Engine, Attitude is the Transmission.

Committee Charter

A charter defines the scope of the activities the committee will undertake.  We'll need to define what our role is and therefore what deliverables we'll be providing to the stakeholders.  The charter will be submitted for approval at the next board meeting as part of the standing committee report, so lets think about what we really want to accomplish and capture it in a paragraph or two.

I'll get us started....

The Wilderness Rim Homeowners Association (WRHOA)  Flood Committee will act as the primary interface for information exchange between the following stakeholder groups:

• The WRHOA membership at large
• The WRHOA members with property directly affected by flooding
• The WRHOA board of trustees
• King County
• FEMA

The Flood Committee will collect and publish information on the status and schedule of all proposed activities to alleviate or mitigate flooding in Wilderness Rim.  The committee will seek stakeholder feedback on preliminary proposals and ensure majority support of any county initiative prior to implementation.

All information provided to the committee from September 2011 forward will be made available online where it will be available for comment, in the event information can not be published in a publicly accessible forum, it will be referenced and summarized with information on how stakeholders can access the information.

Stakeholder Analysis

Please use the comment section of this post to suggest additional stakeholders and additional stakeholder agendas and needs.

I see the main stakeholders for any flood mitigation in the Rim as follows:

The WRHOA membership at large:  All homeowners are affected by this issue, keep in mind the homeowners directly affected and the trustees are also in this stakeholder group.  Homeowners at large want to be informed of the status of the project, and consulted on potential solutions.  They want the solution to help those directly affected, but in a way that doesn't impact common areas or have a significant direct cost to the WRHOA or members, while preserving property values. 

The WRHOA members with property directly affected by flooding:  These stakeholders have all of the needs of the membership at large.  In addition these homeowners need a solution that protects their property.

The WRHOA board of trustees:  These stakeholders have all of the needs of the membership at large.  In addition, they have a fiduciary responsibility to ensure that any solution is allowable within the laws and bylaws that govern Wilderness Rim. 

King County:  King County needs prompt, professional feedback on the needs of the other stakeholders, and proposed mitigation projects.  King County also needs to provide proposals, schedules, plans, and reports to the WRHOA membership via the Flood Committee which will be responsible for making them available to the general membership.

FEMA:  Possible stakeholder depending on King County Solution.  King County will be primary interface with FEMA.

Other needs?

Evaluation of flood mitigation solutions

 Hi Neighbors,

My father-in-law is a semi-retired civil engineer, who's worked on fresh and waste water systems worldwide.  Bottom line, he's an expert on the subject, and he was happy to come out and walk around the Rim with me before the meeting at the fire station Wednesday September 14th.

We looked at Brewster Lake, the weir, the drain pipe to the infiltration pond, and the properties where the King County Homes were torn down prior to attending the meeting.

With his more than 30 years of experience, my F-in-L says the only way to prevent future flooding is by getting rid of the water, and the only way to do that is with a drain pipe from Brewster Lake to the hillside south of the Rim that would percolate through the Forrest into Rattlesnake lake.

Rattlesnake is 100 feet lower than Brewster.

Keep in mind, the initial 18" gravity pipe from the infiltration pond was rejected due to cost which was high because of length and excavation depth.

But rather than running all the way to Cedar Falls Road, heading south toward Rattlesnake cuts the distance by more than 2/3rd, an we'd only have to micrortunnel a short distance.  We'd be looking at about $120.00 per foot for a 30" drain pipe and we could mostly run down the existing road (I know don't tear up the brand new road).

I'll definitely be pushing the county on a feasibility study for this option.

The biggest challenge will be political with the city of Seattle Water department, so I contacted Kathy Lambert's office to see if they'd support us, see the next post for those details.

Best regards,
Dan Covey MPM, PMP
425-785-4217

If Ability is the Engine, Attitude is the Transmission.

[FWD: Wilderness Rim flooding]

It looked to me like the consensus at the meeting at the fire station was that the community preferred a drain pipe to remove water and prevent flooding.

Since one challenge will be the politics with Seattle Water, I contacted Kathy Lambert's office to see if they'd help advocate for us if the feasibility study showed that option was do-able.

First the message I wrote, and below that the response.

From: Dan Covey <dan@dancovey.net>
Date: September 15, 2011 8:42:29 AM PDT
To: "Lambert, Kathy" <Kathy.Lambert@kingcounty.gov>
Cc: Dan Covey <dan@dancovey.net>
Subject: Wilderness Rim Flooding Meeting 9-14

Dear Mrs. Lambert,

Thank you and your team for sending a representative from your office to attend the community meeting at the Wilderness Rim Fire station last night to listen to feedback on flooding mitigation in our neighborhood.

I brought my father-in-law with me, he is a semi-retired civil engineer with more than 35 years of experience designing fresh and waste water projects worldwide, and he has worked extensively with the Seattle Water department.  We took a look at the Brewster Lake drainage and the greenbelt flood areas prior to the meeting and I would like to share a little of his expertise, and a few key points.

Any project designed to increase the holding capacity for Brewster Lake overflow in the greenbelt area will be ineffective due to ground saturation.  I almost bought one of the houses the county purchased and demolished, and when we looked at the house on in October 2003, it was lightly raining, the back yard was so saturated with water is was like walking on a sponge.  My point being the water table is so high in this area, you can dig all the holes you want to hold water, but they'll fill up with ground-water before the overflow from the lake has a chance to use this proposed excess capacity.  I'm afraid this, as well as the proposals to construct berms or flood-walls around at risk homes, that water will seep under, and which would require high capacity pumps would not be an effective use of limited monies available. 

The best technical solution is a gravity overflow drain from Brewster lake to the hillside above Rattlesnake lake.  This is a proposal the county is looking at, but we were told that the biggest obstacle to that plan is getting permission from Seattle Water to discharge into their watershed.  The city should be reminded that when they built Chester Morris, they raised the water-table in our area significantly, the current site of Rattlesnake lake was once a railroad town, that flooded when the damn was installed.  In the winter when Rattlesnake lake is very low, you can walk down about 30 feet and see some evidence of where that town used to be.

Because the water table is higher, it puts more pressure on the drainage capacity of the depression our neighborhood is in.  There seemed to be a consensus at the meeting last night that we'd like to see a drain pipe solution pursued, and we will need your help with Seattle Water to convince them to support this project.

A drain pipe would cost between $500k and $750k complete, which is about what I heard the county can budget over three years for flood water mitigation in our neighborhood, and would be a permanent solution.

Best regards,
Dan Covey MPM, PMP
425-785-4217

If Ability is the Engine, Attitude is the Transmission.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Wilderness Rim flooding
From: <grace.reamer@kingcounty.gov>
Date: Thu, September 15, 2011 3:22 pm
To: <dan@dancovey.net>
Cc: <wendy.kara@kingcounty.gov>, <kathy.lambert@kingcounty.gov>,
<christine.jensen@kingcounty.gov>

 

September 15, 2011

 

 

Dear Mr. Covey,

 

Thank you for contacting King County Councilmember Kathy Lambert and for participating in last night's meeting about Wilderness Rim flooding issues and how we can work together to design a solution that will last into the future. We certainly understand your concerns about the evidence of a high water table and how that contributes to flooding with the addition of storm event overflow from Brewster Lake. We expect that the engineers in the Water and Land Resources Division will keep your comments in mind as they continue with hydrology studies to help us better understand the interaction of groundwater and surface water drainage in the Rim area. And we will be glad to assist with negotiations with the City of Seattle, if needed, regarding the redirection of floodwater from the infiltration area.

 

Again, thank you for taking the time to contact Councilmember Lambert about this issue. Please keep us informed about your concerns and contact us at any time if we can be of assistance. 

 

Sincerely,

 

Grace Reamer

Legislative Aide

King County Councilmember Kathy Lambert

District 3

(206) 296-0331

grace.reamer@kingcounty.gov

 

This email and any response to it constitute a public record and may be subject to public disclosure.