Recently, work release crews gathered near the White River to fill and stockpile sandbags for future flood control. The crews were under the direction of Pierce County District Court, along with staff from Public Works and Utilities, Department of Emergency Management and the City of Pacific.
An estimated 2,500 to 3,000 bags were filled and staged on wooden pallets by two 10-person crews Monday and Tuesday. The sandbags are ready to be put in place quickly if the threat of flooding arises. Combined with previous efforts, the goal to fill and stockpile 20,000 sandbags is nearly complete. Bags will remain at the county’s Butte Pit site until needed.
The effort was a cooperative project between Pierce County, King County, the City of Pacific and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to improve flood protection where the two counties meet near Pacific. This area is of high concern due to flooding observed in January 2009.
Contributions to the effort included staff time, work-release crews, the staging area, a bagging machine, sand, bags, pallets and other equipment.
Pierce County is identifying long term solutions for flooding in the City of Pacific and the rest of the county through its comprehensive flood hazard management plan, which is in process and expected to be complete in 2011. The plan will address flood hazards on major rivers throughout the county.
Permanent fixes such as rebuilding the levee system or moving homes out of the flood zone are very expensive. To pay for these projects, the county is looking for alternative funding strategies such as creation of a flood control zone district. They are also partnering with the Corps of Engineers in a flood management study for the Puyallup River, which may make additional federal construction funding available.
The use of District Court work crews to fill sandbags and perform other community services saves public money by avoiding the costs of jail time and of hiring labor to do the jobs.
Crew members can work off jail time and court fines through the program.
