This story has been updated to correct the names in the photo caption.
An effort to “temper concerns about a second large release” of water from Suicide Basin, while assuring residents everything possible is being done if a second major flood of the Mendenhall River occurs this year was made by officials during a Juneau Assembly meeting Monday night.
Immediate remedies such as large sandbags to safeguard against such a flood experts say could occur next month, efforts to enlist additional expert help to prepare for an anticipated major flood next summer, and millions of dollars in funding for short- and long-term mitigation solutions were part of the discussions at the meeting.
Suicide Basin is currently about half full and a full release now would result in the Mendenhall River rising to about 10 feet, City Manager Katie Koester said while providing an update about the situation at the beginning of the meeting. She said problems such as flooding of Mendenhall Campground and nearby roads start to occur when the river rises to about 12 feet.
Glacial outburst floods have been occurring from Suicide Basin since 2011 and Koester said historically there has been a second release of water during years a major release has occurred, but none have been major incidents.
“The reason it fills more quickly in the spring is because you have it filling from both snowmelt and rainwater,” she said. “Right now it is just filling with rainwater. Of course this is our rainy time of year and that certainly is concerning, but at some point the rainwater at that elevation will turn to snow, so that’s another thing that can temper the flow into the basin.”
At the same time city leaders are taking the possibility of a major second release seriously, Koester said. Preparations include meeting with vendors about immediate prevention measures if needed, as well as plans to ask Gov. Mike Dunleavy for a pre-disaster declaration that would allow implementation of flood-fighting measures such as sandbags if a large release appears imminent.
“While we don’t have the time we need to make major preparations, we do have warning,” she said.
Updates about the basin status, alerts and other information are being provided at the City and Borough of Juneau’s flood response webpage at https://juneau.org/manager/flood-response.
Also, Koester said, a request for experts from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Flood Risk Management team has been submitted to the governor — since either a state or tribal entity must request such help — which would provide additional help planning for near-term situations such as next year’s anticipated flooding. She said the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, which has its own emergency response operation, is also supporting the request as well as participating in other preparatory efforts.
Koester said she, Mayor Beth Weldon, and a Tlingit and Haida representative will travel Wednesday to Washington, D.C., for a two-day visit with Alaska’s congressional delegation, plus other federal officials, to discuss matters such as emergency federal funding for current flood repairs and mitigation as well as longer-term efforts.
Funding proposals introduced — and scheduled for a public hearing and possible vote during a special Assembly meeting next Monday — include $3 million to fund half of a multi-year Corps of Engineers study of long-term mitigation measures. Among several options presented during a previous meeting are drilling a drainage tunnel through a mountain, digging diversion channels for the water flow and blasting near the basin to partially fill it with rocks.
Also introduced for consideration next Monday was spending $100,000 for expanded inundation maps and hydrological modeling of the Mendenhall River.
Several residents from areas affected by record flooding the past two years testified about their concerns and offered suggestions about what city leaders should do, but there was also discussion about what people in those areas could do on their own.
“I think the homeowners are going to have to band together and figure out their own temporary flood situation or flood solution,” said Steve Bradford, an engineer who lives at Riverside Condominiums, which sustained major damage last year.
”I think it’s a pretty major impossible task for the homeowners that were flooded this year to think that they have to come up with their own individual solution to prevent damage next year. I think there needs to be a greater plan than that, and I would look to those individual homeowners to pick a leader and move forward with a plan.”
The condominiums escaped damage during this year’s flooding, even though the river crested a foot higher, after the homeowners association had rock fill reinforcing the riverbank along the buildings installed as part of last year’s repair efforts.
Some residents — while praising collaborative efforts between government, tribal, business and neighborhood entities the past two years — said some residents are in situations where they can’t physically or economically take immediate precautions and possible emergency actions.
“I ask the city specifically to provide resources for purchasing and placing sandbags for vulnerable residents like myself and my neighbors who cannot physically manage this work,” said Kathleen Rado, a resident on Emily Way, one of the areas hardest hit by the flood.
Some residents said that, despite efforts described by officials in the wake of the past two major floods, they still don’t feel like the city is taking enough meaningful action as homeowners try to determine things such as whether it’s worth repairing homes that may end up suffering the same damage next summer.
“As of now we’re living in a constant state of stress not knowing what to do, not knowing where to look for help,” said Margaret Katzeek, another resident affected by this year’s flood.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
