Floodplains by design grant program

Floodplains by Design (FbD) is our primary grant program for projects that help communities live better in their floodplain. This competitive grant program is a component of a public-private partnership led by Ecology, The Nature Conservancy, Bonneville Environmental Foundation, and the Puget Sound Partnership. It is focused on re-establishing floodplain functions in Washington’s major river corridors, as well as reducing flood risk.

Floodplains provide important habitat for salmon, rich soil for farms, and beautiful backdrops for residents and visitors to Washington. In the past, attempts were made to control rivers, thinking flooding could be stopped by walling off rivers with levees, straightening them, and laying a grid of commercial and residential development across them. Now, salmon runs are disappearing, and more people live in the path of dangerous floodwaters.

Local and Tribal governments, along with nonprofit organizations, are using FbD grants across Washington to complete multi-benefit projects that reduce flood hazards to communities and restore the natural functions of rivers and their floodplains. These FbD projects bring together many different stakeholders in the floodplain to:

Improve flood protection for communities that live and work in floodplains.
Conserve and restore habitat for salmon and other important aquatic species.
Preserve farmland to keep agriculture viable for future generations.
Improve water quality.
Enhance outdoor recreation.

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Funding cycle

Amount of funding available: Varies - determined by the state Legislature
Funding allocated:
Grant award limit: Achievable in three to four years
Amount of matching funds required: 20 percent, waived for Economically Distressed Communities (see Appendix F of Guidelines)

Applications are not being accepted at this time.

Pre-applications were due Jan. 14, 2022, and reviewed by Ecology staff. Project Proponents determined to be a good fit for the program were invited to give presentations to evaluators over the week of Feb.14-18, 2022.

Proponents who gave presentations are invited to submit full applications beginning March 15, 2022, and ending May 3, 2022. We have posted extensive information about the FbD program and what makes a good project in our FbD Funding Guidelines (see below).

If you have not been through the pre-application and presentation stages for this funding cycle, you cannot apply for the FbD 2023-25 funding cycle. The FbD 2025-27 funding cycle will start in November 2023.

Funding is available for the following entities:

Counties, cities, and towns
Special purpose districts, such as flood control districts
Federally recognized tribes
Conservation districts
Municipal or quasi-municipal corporations
Not-for-profit organizations that are recognized as tax exempt by the Internal Revenue Service

Flood hazard reduction projects that also contain an ecosystem restoration aspect as outlined in the funding guidelines.

More information about this funding program

Additional grant information

FbD 2023-25 Application instructions (publication no. 22-06-001)
FbD 2023-25 EAGL Application Prep Tool

Funding program guidelines

2023-2025 version (publication no. 21-06-028)
2021-2023 version (publication no. 19-06-011)
2019-2021 version (publication no. 17-06-033)

Contact information

Scott McKinney
FCAAP grant program lead
scott.mckinney@ecy.wa.gov
360-918-3428

Amelia Petersen
Floodplain planner
amelia.petersen@ecy.wa.gov
360-480-3298

Kayla Eicholtz
Northwest Washington grant manager
kayla.eicholtz@ecy.wa.gov
425-429-4545

Lisa Nelson
Northwest Washington grant manager
lisa.nelson@ecy.wa.gov
425-213-4843

Matt Gerlach
Southwest Washington grant manager
matt.gerlach@ecy.wa.gov
360-584-2804

Alex Rosen
Southwest Washington grant manager
alex.rosen@ecy.wa.gov
360-810-0027

Lynn Schmidt
Eastern Washington grant manager
lynn.schmidt@ecy.wa.gov
509-344-9692

Sandra Floyd
Central Washington grant manager
sandra.floyd@ecy.wa.gov
509-571-5679

For a list of counties in each region, visit our Contact Us page.

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