A major announcement for Hoquiam and Aberdeen came on Friday morning as local and federal officials informed the public the cities would receive $50 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for the North Shore Levee project.
The funds come as one piece of $1 billion that will be spent in Washington on climate change and disaster resilience projects in the coming years.
After major flooding and landslides shook the two coastal cities in 2015, officials began planning projects.
When applying for the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant from FEMA, the minimum benefit-to-cost ratio had to be 1-to-1, according to Hoquiam City Administrator Brian Shay. The lower Chehalis River Basin cities’ analysis was over 2-to-1.
Shay said when adding the revenue developers and business owners will be able to bring to the cities once flood damage is reduced, the actual benefit will be “far greater.”
Plus, he said, residents will save an estimated $2 million in flood insurance costs per year.
The “Aberdeen-Hoquiam Flood Protection Project,” as city officials call it, includes the North Shore Levee, spanning from east Aberdeen to west Hoquiam as a joint project between the cities, and the West Segment of the levee in just Hoquiam.
The Fry Creek Pump Station, another piece of the puzzle, recently celebrated a ribbon-cutting and construction will begin soon. As a major contributor to flooding in the cities, Shay related Fry Creek to Centralia’s China Creek and the City of Centralia’s efforts toward flood mitigation.
Overall for the levee project, Shay said the cost will likely end up around $182 million. The $50 million announced Friday brings the project’s total bank account to over $147 million. This coming legislative session, administrators will seek the final check to round out the project.
“For me, I grew up in this community. To do something like this that will make a positive impact for generations is really rewarding,” Shay told The Chronicle on Friday morning.
He said if all goes as planned, the project will be underway in 2024 and certified in 2026.
“The cities of Aberdeen and Hoquiam fit the definition of the BRIC program. We are resilient and resolute in our efforts to protect our community for future generations,” wrote Shay in an emailed copy of his speech from a press conference on Friday.
