Juneau residents testified at Monday’s Assembly meeting to call for flood preparation and prevention following last month’s record-breaking glacial outburst flood, which devastated parts of the Mendenhall Valley.
Jake Waid lives on Center Court. His neighborhood took on water for the first time this year. In his testimony, he referenced the photo of the Mendenhall Glacier that appears on the wall of the Assembly chambers.
“The entire Valley is threatened by that glacier behind you,” Waid said. “This is our biggest test, and this will certainly be the biggest test any of you face, in your jobs.”
The City and Borough of Juneau has started to make both short and long-term plans in anticipation of another flood.
First, they’ll create more accurate and detailed inundation maps and models of the Mendenhall River. But the Assembly will need an additional $100,000 from the general fund to cover the cost of that work. They’ll discuss it further at a special Assembly meeting next Monday.
There are also plans to bring in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to examine engineering solutions for long-term flood prevention. Only a state or tribal government is able to commission the Corps. Gov. Mike Dunleavy and President Richard Peterson of the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida have plans to do so.
A study by the Corps could cost Juneau an additional $3 million in local funding. At Monday night’s meeting, the Assembly introduced an ordinance to set aside that funding, but it will be subject to a public hearing at next week’s special Assembly meeting.
In their testimony, some residents expressed gratitude for the city’s flood clean-up and recovery efforts so far. But many, like Sandra Edwardson from Killewich Drive, also expressed uncertainty.
“We are all feeling frustration, fear and uncertainty,” she said. “What is clear is that we need help. We are not experts in flood mitigation.”
City Manager Katie Koester and Mayor Beth Weldon are headed to Washington, D.C. this week, along with representatives from Tlingit and Haida. They’ll advocate for additional federal money to support a possible flood mitigation study by the Corps.
But they also plan to ask for money to develop a more robust plan to ward off flood waters next year. That might include something like large-scale sandbagging.
In the meantime, some homeowners are already moving ahead with their own flood fighting projects. And that worries Sam Hatch, who lives on Meander Way. He said there hasn’t been enough professional guidance available in the wake of the flood.
“A lot of my neighbors have been talking, and people really don’t know what to do. They don’t know whether they should repair, they don’t know if it’s worth repairing,” Hatch said. “People are talking about spending tens of thousands of dollars on their own little flood prevention projects — are they going to work?”
Hatch and some other residents asked the Assembly to bring in more experts on flood repair and mitigation, who may be able to assist homeowners through this period of flood recovery.
The Assembly will make their final decision about flood funding during the special Assembly meeting at 12:15 p.m. next week. People are welcome to give public testimony at that meeting, which will be available over Zoom.