The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District, has flood teams out in several basins around the Northwest to respond to flooding and a predicted coastal storm.
Skagit, Snohomish, Olympic Peninsula, and Chehalis flood teams and White River levee walkers remain out with local communities. Work is wrapping up today in Lyman along the Skagit River and at the Hoh Reservation on the Olympic Peninsula. The Olympic Peninsula team will stay out until the threat from the predicted combined coastal storm and high tide passes.
The Corps operates dams in the White/Puyallup, Green/Duwamish, Skagit and Wynoochee basins for flood risk reduction. The Corps is operating Wynoochee, Howard Hanson and Mud Mountain dams for flood control, holding down outflows to reduce the risk of downstream flooding.
While releases from Mud Mountain Dam are expected to stay below the official flood stage of 8,000 cfs, the Corps has river spotters on site in the Pacific and Sumner areas on the White River to monitor conditions because of the unpredictability of channel capacity there. Inflows to Mud Mountain Dam have been as high as 21,000 cubic feet per second and the Corps is managing outflows to reduce impacts downstream to the extent possible.
Reservoir data from Corps reservoirs are available on line at:
http://www.nwd-wc.usace.army.mil/nws/hh/www/index.html
Public Law 84-99 enables the Corps to assist state and local authorities in flood fight activities and cost share in the repair of flood protection structures. The purpose is to prevent loss of life and minimize property damage associated with severe weather.
Private citizens seeking sandbags should contact their local government offices.
The National Weather Service issues Flood Watches and Warnings.
Release no. 15-053