Flood
Control Zone District
Comprehensive Flood
Hazard Management Planning
A comprehensive approach to flood hazard management planning
provides for a better understanding of the river and floodplain
system and ensures that flooding problems are not simply transferred
to another location within the basin, but are addressed in a comprehensive,
basinwide manner. This approach directs future flood hazard management
expenditures in the most efficient and cost effective manner.
 The
River and Flood Division works with the Flood Control Zone District
Advisory Committee (FCZDAC) to identify and characterize flooding
problems and provide recommendations for achieving consistent
long-term flood hazard reduction strategies. Some activities
typically involved in developing a Comprehensive Flood Hazard
Management Plan (CFHMP) include data collection, hydraulic modeling,
alternatives analysis, floodplain mapping and meander limit identification.
In addition to the technical components in comprehensive flood
planning, extensive coordination with the public and other agencies
is required throughout the planning process. The end result of
a successful planning process is a plan which will reduce future
flood damages and is supported by both the impacted community
and agencies involved in floodplain issues.
Ongoing and recent flood planning efforts include analysis of
Swift Creek, Saar Creek, Johnson Creek, Canyon Creek, Jones Creek,
Glacier and Gallup Creeks, Sandy Point and Birch Bay. Since the
FCZD was created, the major focus of staffing resources has been
on the Lower Nooksack River between Deming and Bellingham Bay,
including the Everson-Sumas overflow corridor. The photo above
shows the 1995 flood event on the Nooksack River at the Guide
Meridian.
In 1999, the county adopted the Lower Nooksack River Comprehensive
Flood Hazard Management Plan (CFHMP). The CFHMP identifies
projects, programs, and other recommendations aimed at reducing
future flood damages along the Lower Nooksack River. Detailed
hydraulic modeling and coordination with the Nooksack River
International Task Force to evaluate the Everson overflow is the
first step in implementing the CFHMP and is currently underway.
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