Team members work to add large, woody debris for a floodplain restoration project on the Dungeness River in Clallam County in October 2022.
We have funded all five applications for 2023-2025 Competitive Planning Grant projects under the Flood Control Assistance Account Program (FCAAP).
We design these grants to help communities develop comprehensive flood hazard management plans (CFHMPs) that will reduce the risk of flooding and protect lives and property.
Established in 1984, the FCAAP is a state-funded program that provides grants to local governments, Tribes, and other organizations to help them develop CFHMPs. These plans identify flood hazards, assess risks, and develop strategies to reduce those risks. CFHMPs are essential tools for communities that want and need to prepare for flooding events.
“Preparing for and avoiding flood damages is so important because storms are increasing in strength and frequency while sea levels are rising due to climate change,” said Ecology Floodplain Planner Amelia Petersen. “Responding to a flood emergency often costs four to seven times more than investing in preventative measures, which saves $7 for every $1 spent.”
The application period for the 2023-2025 Competitive Planning Grant projects was open February to March 2023 to eligible applicants to support communities in Washington state that are at risk of flooding.
Grants were available for up to $500,000 and are used to cover the costs of planning, modeling, technical assistance, and outreach for work supporting or developing a CFHMP.
Here are some of the advantages of developing a CFHMP:
- Reduces the risk of flooding and protects lives and property.
- Helps communities understand, prepare for, and respond to flooding events.
- Improves public safety and resilience.
- Creates jobs and economic opportunities.
Focusing on underserved communities and economically disadvantaged areas
The FCAAP planning grants application includes areas focusing on the benefits of funding to overburdened or underserved communities.
We asked applicants to describe the benefits to overburdened or underserved communities in flood risk areas and provide a narrative and supporting documentation on how underserved or overburdened communities in the floodplain area are currently supported, among several other related questions.
For over 10 years, Ecology didn't have sufficient FCAAP funding to help our local partners develop flood hazard management plans. Unfortunately, this lack of funds disproportionately affected economically distressed rural communities.
Emerging research shows Latino and Tribal communities are more exposed to flooding. For example, research estimates that while Latino residents make up 8% of Washington’s total population, they comprise 16% of those living in flood zones.
Tribal governments employ more than 37,000 people and generate $5.7 billion to Washington’s economy. They represent Tribes occupying flood-risk areas that would directly benefit from flood planning. Updated flood plans sustaining and enhancing salmon habitat also help address Tribal treaty rights.
Project highlights
The City of Ellensburg is using data on climate change predictions to support their work, such as evaluating how climate change may affect flooding. They’ll complete stormwater modeling and incorporate climate change predictions to evaluate future conditions.
Snohomish County will implement a plan that was created in a previous FCAAP 2021-2023 planning grant. The county completed a flood risk vulnerability assessment and a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Outreach Plan to develop different ways to engage with underrepresented communities within the study area about the vulnerability assessment findings. Both the risk assessment and DEI outreach plan implement objectives and policies in the new climate change element of the county’s CFHMP.
Stevens County is completing two-dimensional flood modeling that illustrates exposure to climate change. The county said its floodplain planning work “will also increase the community’s climate resilience and is intended to lead to the identification of multi-benefit restoration projects that improve riparian and instream habitat.”
The City of Westport is completing a stormwater system assessment of forecasted sea level rise, storm surge, and increasing precipitation intensity and duration from climate change and how they will contribute to future flood events.
The city also is incorporating environmental justice principles into the planning process to benefit underserved populations in the planning area and throughout Grays Harbor County, saying “the public will be engaged as stakeholders in the development of its comprehensive flood hazard management plan.”
The FCAAP competitive planning grants are an incredibly valuable resource for communities that are at risk of flooding. If you’re interested in learning more about grant opportunities, visit our FCAAP webpage for more information.
Funded 2023-2025 projects
|
Project |
Grant award (not including match) |
|
Columbia County Comprehensive Flood Hazard Management Plan Columbia County Planning & Building will develop a countywide CFHMP to replace the existing outdated one from 2002. The new CFHMP will address flood hazard issues in the Touchet and Tucannon rivers and Patit Creek. |
$468,750 |
|
City of Ellensburg Urban Flood Modeling and Analysis The City of Ellensburg Public Works Department will complete an in-depth analysis of the Ellensburg Urban Growth Area to update a Kittitas County-led floodplain map process focused on urban flooding from Whiskey and Mercer creeks. The project will increase understanding of flooding in the city and identify effective mitigation actions to inform updates to the current CFHMP and Hazard Mitigation Plan. |
$300,000 |
|
Snohomish County FCAAP Phase 2 – Understanding Flood Risks & Vulnerability Snohomish County Conservation Natural Resources Department will complete a geomorphic risk assessment in the North Fork Stillaguamish River and implement the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Outreach Plan developed as part of FCAAP fiscal year 2021-2023 award to engage with underserved communities about the impacts of flooding. |
$500,000 |
|
City of Chewelah Flood Modeling and Water Resource Inventory Area 59 CFHMP Groundwork Stevens County Land Services Department will complete 2D floodplain modeling and analysis, preliminary planning, and stakeholder engagement and outreach with local stakeholders, Tribal co-managers, and the City of Chewelah. The resulting planning and feasibility document will support a larger future Colville River Watershed CFHMP. |
$76,560 |
|
2023 Westport Stormwater Assessment & CFHMP The City of Westport will develop a CFHMP to help identify flood-prone areas, develop strategies to improve stormwater conveyance infrastructure, and reduce flood risks and damage. |
$195,000 |
|
Total |
$1,540,310 |