Status
Construction complete in September 2017 with planting in spring 2018.
Project Benefits
- Provide 100-year flood protection from Nooksack River flooding for Mt. Baker School District and Nooksack Tribe facilities and the BNSF Railway.
- Reconnect a tributary stream and approximately 5 acres of floodplain to the Nooksack River.
Background
Prior to project construction, the upstream end of the Deming Levee was an aging, substandard berm that overtopped relatively frequently during floods with a 10- to 15-year recurrence interval. The old berm also prevented upland drainage from the Marshall Hill area from reaching the Nooksack River and flooded areas in the Deming community.
Project Description
This project extended the Deming Levee about 1,000 feet to the east and connected it into a railroad embankment. The new levee is designed for a 100-year flood event. A 100-year flood has a 1% chance of occurring in any given year. In addition to levee improvements, the Marshall Hill stream was rerouted into a new channel flowing from a culvert under the railroad embankment to a side channel of the Nooksack River. This rerouted channel provides new fish habitat and improves floodplain connectivity.
Engineering Design
Engineering design was completed by Brown and Caldwell and Shannon and Wilson, Inc.
Construction Contract
- Contractor: Strider Construction Company, Inc.
- Contract Amount:$1,876,030
Funding
- Washington State Department of Ecology Floodplains Management and Control Grant through the Floodplains by Design Program
- Real Estate Excise Tax
- Whatcom County Flood Control Zone District
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) funding administered through The Nature Conservancy
