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KITTITAS COUNTY <br />DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS <br />PUBLIC WORKS — BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS <br />2023 STUDY SESSION STAFF REPORT <br />STUDY SESSION DATE: November 13, 2023 <br />TOPIC: Bureau of Reclamation Floodplain Support <br />ACTION REQUESTED: Direct Staff <br />LEAD STAFF: <br />Mark R. Cook <br />RECOMMENDATION: <br />Direct staff prepare enabling documents recognizing Bureau of Reclamation (BoR) <br />design support. <br />BRIEFING SUMMARY: <br />• Recently, Public Works (PW) staff met with design staff from the BoR reviewing <br />design deliverables supporting ongoing work along the Yakima River from <br />Hanson Pit to Ringer Loop. <br />• BoR staff from the Boise ID office have been working with our Water Resources <br />Manager for the past year evaluating options for de -activating remaining elements <br />of the Hanson Pits levee. <br />• The design products are high quality and are anticipated to improve ecologic <br />function and reduce flooding risk to county residents. <br />• BoR provided this service to PW free of charge. <br />• PW staff desires having the Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) formally <br />acknowledge the BoR design support to BoR regional management. <br />BACKGROUND: <br />For the past several years, the Water Resources Division (WRD) of PW has been <br />contemplating how best to remove the existing remnants of the Hanson Pits levee while <br />managing potential adverse impacts to downstream residents. A team of hydraulic <br />engineers from BoR offered assistance to the WRD and work has been ongoing for the <br />past year. BoR provided this service at no cost to WRD. <br />DISCUSSION: <br />Since PW acquired the Moeur property several years ago, we have been working to <br />design flood alleviation improvements benefiting the property owners downstream of the <br />Hanson Pits levee and improving habitat conditions. Utilizing work conducted in support <br />of the Schakee Levee setback project by BoR, BoR specialists have been able to <br />hydraulically model numerous design approaches supporting Hanson Pits levee removal. <br />The heavily damaged levee presents ongoing risk of avulsion into existing ponds <br />associated with the levee and behind the levee. <br />Page 1 of 2 <br />Public Works "Work Session Staff Report", 2023 <br />