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2025 Hazard Mitigation Plan <br />Kittitas County, Washington <br /> <br /> <br />Chapter 5: Mitigation Strategy 221 <br />• Critical Facility Protection • Sand Bagging for Flood Protection <br /> <br />Steering Committee Discussion: The Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office is the lead for emergency services <br />planning and is responsible for the maintenance of the Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan <br />(CEMP). The CEMP is a planning effort that provides a system of emergency management programs, <br />plans, and procedures that provide for the response and recovery of natural, human-caused, and <br />technological disasters. The Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA), which is <br />developed and maintained by the State of Washington with support from the counties, helps communities <br />identify the threats and hazards (i.e., hazard threat recognition) that can affect a community. The CEMP <br />considers the hazards identified and described in the THIRA to develop guidance for a systematic and <br />coordinated effort for hazard warning, hazard response operations, critical facility protection, health and <br />safety maintenance, and evacuation planning and management. The County Emergency Preparedness <br />Assessment (CEPA) is a standardized, repeatable process used to collect county specific data regarding <br />overall preparedness and capabilities. It consists of an in-person meeting involving local emergency <br />management stakeholders and subject matter experts to discuss county capabilities, concerns strengths, <br />gaps, and among other topics. <br /> <br />Additionally, the Flood Control Zone District and City of Ellensburg coordinate and provide sand bagging <br />for flood protection when conditions warrant. Evacuation planning and management are particularly <br />important for wildfire and flood hazards. The Steering Committee identified emergency services activities, <br />as appropriate, for all of the six (6) highest ranking natural hazards (Table 5-2). <br />5.2.5. Structural Projects <br />Structural mitigation projects are intended to lessen the impact of a hazard by modifying the hazard itself <br />through construction. These are usually designed by engineers and managed or maintained by Public <br />Works staff. Examples include: <br /> <br />• Reservoirs <br />• Levees/Floodwalls <br />• Diversions <br />• Fire Hydrants/Fire Flow <br />• Channel Modifications <br />• Storm Drain/Stormwater Improvements <br />• Shaded Firebreaks <br /> <br />Steering Committee Discussion: Structural protection is utilized for floods, droughts, and fire hazards. <br />Several flood control levees and stormwater management systems are needed in urbanized areas. To <br />be most effective, levees/floodwalls and channel modification projects should account for natural riverine <br />processes to better assess long term maintenance, structure feasibility, and potential environmental <br />impacts. There are many water supply reservoirs and irrigation diversions and canals within Kittitas <br />County. Although these facilities are able to provide incidental flood control benefits, these structures <br />were not developed and are not operated for flood control and should not be relied upon for that purpose. <br />Kittitas County has an extensive network of reservoirs, diversion dams, and canals that store and <br />distribute water. Efforts to address drought risks include modernizing the canal systems, constructing <br />additional surface and groundwater storage, and on-farm irrigation projects to more efficiently utilize <br />available water. Structural projects to address wildfire risk include shaded firebreak treatments and the <br />construction of water systems with adequate fire flow and fire hydrants to combat a fire in a given area. <br />