Floodplain development is contributing to the demise of Puget Sound orcas. Photo: Minette Layne/WikiMedia Commons

The Costs of Flooding

Since 1990, Puget Sound has been ravaged by 15 major flood disasters—that’s more than one every other year. As outlined in our new report, Changing Course: Why Protecting Floodplains is Good for People and Wildlife, thousands of homes have been damaged or destroyed and at least 58 people have died due to flooding. These floods cost taxpayers more than $1.37 billion in clean up and recovery costs.

Humans are not the only ones affected by floodplain development. Since 1900, Puget Sound Chinook salmon populations have declined 93% and nine runs of Chinook have gone extinct. Orca whales, which eat primarily salmon, have declined by half. Both are now under federal protection through the Endangered Species Act, but habitat and populations continue to decline.

Developing in Floodplains

Tolt River Road near Carnation, WA inundated by floodwaters. Photo: King County.

By filling floodplains and leveeing rivers, we’ve diminished the ability of the land to absorb large storms. More than 90% of our floodplains and wetlands have been lost to development, agriculture and other human activities. Of the floodplains that remain, more than 70% are in poor condition. The result is an increase in devastating flood damage, degradation of Puget Sound, and steep declines in fish and wildlife populations.

Solutions for Our Floodplains

As scientists consider how to address salmon declines and larger storms, they are coming to the conclusion that protecting and restoring floodplains is one of the most important things we can do to help salmon and orca while reducing risk for people.

The first step is to prevent more harmful development in flood-prone areas. In other words, we must stop making the problem worse. The second step is to fix our past mistakes by repairing already damaged floodplains. We can do this by buying out frequently flooded properties, setting back or removing levees to widen the river and floodplain, and restoring floodplains to recreate critical ecological functions.

So, is putting Puget Sound’s next million people in floodplains a good idea? So far, building in floodplains has been bad for people, bad for taxpayers, and bad for fish and wildlife. The question should not be, where are we going to put the next million people. The question should be, where are we going to put them, safely?

Finding a safe home for Puget Sound’s next million people will mean building smarter. Restoring and protecting our floodplains will mean that Puget Sound’s next generation will not just be safer from floods; they will also still be able to see salmon and orca leaping from our waters.

For more information, be sure to read our report: Changing Course: Why Protecting Floodplains is Good for People and Wildlife, and watch our video here.

GiveBIG May 2nd - The Seattle Foundation

Mark Your Calendar

On May 2nd you have the opportunity to maximize your donation to the National Wildlife Federation by donating through the Seattle Foundation’s GiveBIG program. GiveBIG is a one day opportunity to donate to Seattle area nonprofits including the National Wildlife Federation. When you donate through GiveBig we receive a pro-rated portion of the matching funds, making your donation go further. All you have to do is make a donation online anytime on the second of May to the National Wildlife Federation!

When you make your donation you are automatically entered into a drawing to win an additional $1,000 to the National Wildlife Federation.

Opportunity is Knocking

By donating you have the opportunity to help us continue some of your favorite programs and campaigns. We work hard to protect our wildlife and wild places for today and future generations in offices around the country, including right here in Seattle! Here at the Pacific Regional Center we work on some of the most pressing issues in Washington, Oregon, California, Hawaii and Alaska.

Staff at the Pacific Regional Center - Photo: National Wildlife Federation Pacific Regional Center

Protecting Floodplain Habitat in Puget Sound

Floodplains are critical habitat for many of the endangered salmon runs in the Pacific Northwest and are swiftly disappearing under rapidly expanding development. This development threatens the endangered salmon and the orcas that feed on them and puts people in harm’s way. We are working to find ways to help protect and restore these floodplains for the health of the salmon and orcas and the safety of local communities.

Creating Climate-Resilient Communities

Water is one of the most important natural resources on the planet. Here in Washington State our increasing population and Climate Change are putting more and more stress on this already stressed resource which is critical for wildlife and people. We are working with a broad coalition to find balanced solutions to water demands in Eastern Washington to find solutions to this pressing issue.

Be Out There

Today’s children are spending less and less time in the out of doors and more time plugged in inside. Our Be Out There campaign uses education, conservation and advocacy to help unplug kids and get them back outside. Programs include the Great American Backyard Campout, Ranger Rick, Eco-Schools, Gardening for Wildlife, National Wildlife Week and more!

The glaciers on Mt. Adams are quickly retreating due to climate change Photo: Bryn Fluharty

Water Water Everywhere

According to the Department of Ecology’s Washington State’s Integrated Climate Response Strategy, increases in winter runoff and precipitation and more intense precipitation will lead to more severe flooding in the winter months. For many rivers, this will mean an increase of the magnitude of the 100-year flood under natural conditions. These events are predicted to increase by 20 to 30 percent by 2040, which will put more people in danger and stress our existing flood control systems, such as dams, levees and dykes.

Predictions for Increases in Flooding Under Two Climate Scenarios. Source: Tohver and Hamlet 2010

The Salmon Connection

Climate change will impact salmon by changing the stream flow, changing and decreasing habitat and increasing water temperatures. Exposure to severe floods is predicted to cause an increase in mortality for the eggs and juvenile fish of fall- and winter-spawning fish. These populations include Chinook, coho, chum, sockeye salmon, and bull trout.

Climate change will also result in a significant loss of salmon habitat. By 2090, potential losses in Oregon and Idaho will exceed 40 percent, and will top 22 percent in Washington. Floodplains—essential habitat for salmon—are already degraded, with 71% of Washington State’s floodplains in poor condition. Development continues in these sensitive areas, degrading what little floodplain habitat is left. National Wildlife Federation recognizes this loss of habitat as an important and pressing issue. We have taken the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to court over the impacts of the National Flood Insurance Program on salmon runs in Puget Sound.

It is imperative that we protect existing habitat and restore degraded habitat in order to help save our salmon and help protect against the impacts of climate change. If we do not we will lose a part of our natural history and culture. We have the opportunity to change and must act.

At first the rains come as a light drizzle, tapping out a soothing melody on rooftops and windowpanes. Soon the tempo quickens to a loud drum beat of impending danger. As the rain falls harder and harder the river begins to swell, slowly creeping up its banks. Even the levees that have been constructed to shelter communities from floods are not immune to the growing threat and soon water begins to spill into the land around the river. At one point this land was left free for flooding but then people began to develop along the river. Levees were built and vegetation removed which destroyed the natural processes of the river. With out the natural protection offered from the floodplain the water begins to swirl into the basements and living rooms of the houses. Furniture, family heirlooms, floors and walls are submerged by the flood waters as the residents have to evacuate in a hurry.

This is a scene that is played out over and over again throughout the years and across watersheds. Many homes were insured through FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) which provides subsidized flood insurance for those living in floodplains. The insurance makes it possible for people to rebuild in the same location after a flood. These rebuilt homes only continue to put their owners in danger from floods and negatively impact salmon. As of 2011 Washington state has had 833 repeatedly flooded homes(those that have been flooded three times or more) and cost tax payers $71 million in insurance claims.

A Possible Way Out

When people are flooded out of their homes it takes an emotional and financial toll on the families, many of which were unaware of the extent of danger that living in these areas presents. The FEMA buy out program is a long and complex process that offers the possibility of moving people out of floodplains and restoring the floodplain, helping people and wildlife. This video shows firsthand accounts of flood victims’ experiences with flooding and using the buyout program.

Bad for People and Wildlife

Developing in floodplains puts people in danger and destroys critical habitat for endangered salmon runs in the Puget Sound region. It is for this reason that the National Wildlife Federation is involved in a lawsuit against FEMA. Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) no federal agency can take actions that harm an ESA listed species. By promoting development in floodplains FEMA is violating the ESA and threatening endangered salmon runs and the orcas which rely on salmon for their primary food source.

Moving Forward

Instead of continuing to bail people out of flooded properties FEMA should make it easier for people to move out of the floodplain and to higher, safer ground. This is of particular importance in the face of Climate Change which will cause an increase in extreme events such as flooding. Properties that they do ensure should be safe for people and wildlife.

A Natural Legacy

In the Pacific Northwest, we are blessed with the kinds of surroundings that most people just read about in the glossy pages of magazines. Accordingly, we want to build homes and businesses as close to that natural beauty as we can get – often, in floodplains. Unfortunately, in doing so, we destroy the natural systems that sustain this essential ecosystem.

Floodplains are Critical Salmon Habitat

Salmon have forever been our pride in the Puget Sound Region. It’s for good reason, they are a keystone species that keeps this ecosystem living and breathing. Unfortunately, their unique fresh and saltwater lifestyle makes them very susceptible to the alterations that we have made to the vulnerable riparian areas on which they depend.

Comparison of fish at the same age, reared in the main river channel (left) and reared in the floodplain (right). Source: Jeffres et al., 2008

Development adds impervious surfaces which carry storm water runoff full of pollutants straight into nearby rivers. All of these factors have resulted in the dramatic decline of Puget Sound salmon populations.

These impacts also have a negative impact on other marine life. According to one study, orcas, who feed on the fish and contain 400-550 times higher concentration of toxic PCBs than humans, are leaving the Sound for cleaner waters up north, where food is more abundant.

The State of Washington’s Floodplains

The National Marine Fisheries Services cited these sobering facts in a recent evaluation of floodplain habitat impacts on Puget Sound salmon populations:

1. 71 percent of the State’s floodplains are in poor condition.
2. More than 90 percent of the wetlands and floodplains once associated with lowland alluvial rivers of the Puget Sound basin have been lost.
3. Ditching, diking, and dredging activities in floodplains, primarily found in urban and agricultural regions, were associated with a 73 percent loss of coho salmon rearing habitat in the Skagit River system.

The Impact of the National Flood Insurance Program on Salmon

Since the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) began, it has served to make building in floodplains more affordable; with the assurance that those properties will be repaired if they flood. Our decisions about where to build homes and businesses typically come down to economics, not concern over fish. We don’t intend to harm salmon. We just want to be close to nature, and don’t want our homes to flood. But instead of factoring in the risk and costs of flooding, and the value of nature (and the fish), the NFIP alters our decisions based on false assurances, not accurate economics.

Flooding takes a significant toll on impacted areas - photo by WSDOT

Support NWF’s efforts to defend Puget Sound floodplains, and learn more about similar efforts around the United States.

Click here to view the embedded video.

National Flood Safety Awareness Week

Turn Around Don't Drown poster - National Weather Service

Flooding — a Necessary Disaster

When left to their natural state flooding is an essential part of any river system, providing habitat for wildlife such as salmon and other fish, caring nutrient rich silt onto the floodplain and creating natural meanders in the river channel. Rivers today have been encroached upon by human development with buildings, homes and roads spilling in and filling up the floodplain. The once naturally flowing rivers are then channelized and maintained through levees and dykes which provide a barrier between these areas and the river and provides a false sense of security for those living, working, and traveling in these areas. Development in floodplains harms people and wildlife. If we stop development in floodplains and begin to restore these areas to their natural state we remove ourselves from the problem by giving rivers the space they need and helping to protect people and wildlife.

Flooding and Wildlife

The National Wildlife Federation has filed numerous lawsuits against the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for using the National Flood Insurance Program(NFIP) to subsidize and subsequently promote development in floodplains which negatively impacts Endangered Species such as salmon and orcas in Puget Sound and eight endangered species including Key deer in the Florida Keys among others. Development in floodplains harms wildlife and people. By promoting development in floodplains FEMA is providing not only the means but the need to travel in flood prone areas for work or home. Smart development in regards to floodplains can reduce this danger and can help restore habitat for wildlife.

Representative Norm Dicks has announced that he is retiring. Rep. Dicks represents the 6th district in Washington State and is the current ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee and has a strong history of standing up for wildlife and the environment.

Some of the issues he has stood up for over the years:

Salmon in the Pacific Northwest

A salmon returning to spawn. Photo by: Bryn Fluharty

Keystone XL
In the past year the National Wildlife Federation along with many other environmental organizations and politicians have fought against the dangerous Keystone XL pipeline. This pipeline would bring oil from the tar sands fields in Alberta, Canada across 2,000 miles of US land to the Gulf Coast.Rep Dicks recognized the threats posed by the pipeline and voted against it. This vote stood up for wildlife and the environment.

Floodplains

A healthy floodplain along the Green River in WA. Photo by: Bryn Fluharty

Gulf Coast Restoration
Rep. Dicks has supported funding for the restoration of the Gulf Coast. In 2011 Rep. Dicks voted to boost funding for the coastal Louisiana restoration projects by $1 million. This funding would have provided additional funds for the restoration of wetlands, fish and wildlife in the Gulf Coast region. While in the end these funds were not included in the omnibus appropriations bill, H.R.2055 we applaud the Rep. Dicks for voting in support of this amendment.

The National Wildlife Federation is sad to see Rep. Dicks retire but is grateful for all of his hard work to help protect our nation’s wildlife and wild places and hope to see our state representatives continue his strong and dedicated legacy.

Historic Limits on Toxic Mercury Become Final

December 21 – Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized new air pollution standards that will result in the first-ever national limits on the amount of mercury spewing from the nation’s coal-fired power plants. Over 20 years in the making, the new pollution limits on power plants will cut mercury emissions by 91 percent, while also cutting acid gas, arsenic, lead and nickel emissions.

“Our children and grandchildren will inherit a safer world thanks to the leadership of President Obama and Administrator Jackson,” said  Larry Schweiger, National Wildlife Federation president and CEO. “At long last, these prudent and overdue limits on unchecked mercury and toxic air pollution will ensure our fish will be safe to eat, and our children can breathe easier.”

Groups Move to Protect People, Property and Wildlife in Flood-Prone Areas

December 21 – The National Wildlife Federation asked a judge to prevent the U.S. government from issuing federally-backed flood insurance policies for new development in risky flood-prone areas around Puget Sound.  The motion for a preliminary injunction, filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, alleges the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) failed to ensure that new floodplain management standards protect endangered species like salmon and orcas.

“People, communities, and salmon are all put at risk by harmful development in floodplains,” said Dan Siemann, senior environmental policy specialist for the National Wildlife Federation in Seattle.

National Wildlife Federation’s Na’Taki Osborne Jelks Appointed to Conservation Committee

December 21 – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced last week appointees for the 21st Century Conservation Service Corps (21CSC) in a press release. Na’Taki Osborne Jelks, Manager, Education & Advocacy Programs of the NWF’s Southeastern regional office was appointed to the Committee. The Committee is composed of twenty two representatives from conservation, work force development, service and federal groups nationwide.

The Committee will provide recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior on how to engage young Americans in public lands and water restoration and provide recommendations on how to build on the important ongoing work of local, state, federal and non-profit youth conservation corps that engage young Americans in hands-on service and job training experiences on public lands and open spaces.

New Yorkers Call For Action on Offshore Wind

December 21 – A broad coalition of New York’s environmental, business, and labor organizations today called on state and federal leaders to move forward with offshore wind development. New York has substantial offshore wind resources and there are currently several proposals to develop job-producing clean energy off the coast of Long Island.

The Wind Works 4 Long Island Coalition set a single, clear message: It is time to get moving and generate much-needed clean energy for New York from offshore wind.

“Governor Cuomo has a golden opportunity to lead the nation in the pursuit of local, job-producing clean energy from offshore wind,” said Catherine Bowes, Senior Policy Representative at National Wildlife Federation.

Coalition: 2012 Budget ‘Significant Victory for Millions Who Depend on Great Lakes’

December 20 – The Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Coalition is praising the 2012 federal budget bill, which has passed both chambers of Congress and is waiting to be signed into law by President Obama. The budget provides $300 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to clean up toxic pollution, restore wildlife habitat, stop invasive species and reduce polluted run-off from farms and cities.

And here are highlights from NWF in the News:

• CNNMoney: Keystone oil sands pipeline: Obama’s hot potato
• Public News Service: New Air Quality Standards Could Improve CO’s Lakes, Rivers
• Associated Press: Environmental groups sue US over flood management

For more, visit www.nwf.org/News

A functioning floodplain without development Photo by: Bryn Fluharty

It is 2am and my mother wakes me up. I can hear the sound of rain falling heavily outside which meant one thing, flooding at our rental. Every time it rained this hard my mother got the call from her tenants that the basement was flooding, again. This would prompt a late night drive the 15 minutes away where my mother would spend the late part of the evening and early morning digging trenches around the rental until to try and stem the flow of water into the house. As a single mother with two young children she relied on the rental for a significant part of our income and had to take care of issues such as flooding on her own as my brother and I were too young to help.

The problem that we and so many others faced was an issue of poor planning. When my family first bought the property the information was not disclosed to us that it had issues with flooding.  The house is in the Thornton Creek Floodplain and so is particularly vulnerable to flooding. The Thornton Creek watershed runs from Shoreline south into North Seattle and finally empties into Lake Washington at Matthews Beach Park. Like many urban streams and rivers development has encroached upon the creek and does not allow for the natural processes to occur. This does not mean that there is no flooding; it means that flooding will occur and will cause damage to the development that gets in its way.

Living in a floodplain carries with it significant risks to its human inhabitants. Many families like mine incurred thousands of dollars worth of damage as well as emotional stress because of flooding. According to the City of Seattle Thornton Creek has had major incidents in 1996/7, 2003 and 2006 with other s in 1990, 1986, and 1978. In 2007 the area experienced a 100-year storm event which caused flooding despite having the Meadowbrook retaining pond which failed to protect the residents. This initiated a lawsuit against the city by local residents due to damage caused by flooding. As the impacts of climate change continue we will see more events like this.

Development in floodplains is bad for people as well as wildlife. Chinook salmon, Coho salmon, cutthroat trout, steelhead, and rainbow trout have all been found in the creek. The full potential for fish habitat in the creek is in part due to the loss of connectivity to the floodplain and the lack of habitat such as deep pools, large woody debris and riparian cover (click here to find out more about Thornton creek). The removal of these elements are all associated with encroaching development.

Flooding in the house has been greatly reduced in part due to the Meadowbrook Retaining pond as well as significant modifications that my mother made at her expense. As a part time teacher and single mother the flooding acted as a huge financial and emotional drain for my mother and our family. If initial planning had been done in a smart way my family and others in the area would not have had to deal with these issues.

Programs such as the National Floodplain Insurance Program (NFIP) run thorough the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) subsidize development in floodplains. This program encourages development in floodplains and further indebts our government as more claims come through due to damage from flooding. The National Wildlife Federation is working hard to encourage smart development and stop encouraging further development of our floodplains. This will help our wildlife as well as our communities so that I and so many others can enjoy the sound of rain instead of worrying that it is simply the drum beat of impending flooding.

Do you have stories about flooding? We want to hear them!

Flooding happens when you build in floodplains. So why does the government pay people to do it? Photo credit: Washington DOT

Building in floodplains is very bad for salmon (and lots of other wildlife).  It takes away the habitat they need to survive.  And that is bad for people.  It also puts people in harm’s way when the floods come.  And in the Pacific Northwest, more floods are coming all the time because of changing weather patterns caused by climate change.

Unfortunately, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) encourages construction in floodplains by offering artificially low-cost flood insurance.  They undercut the private insurance industry and spend our tax dollars to make it cheaper for businesses to build in places that destroy the Northwest’s ecology and fish.  It is plain and simple goofy. 

To read more or to hear NWF floodplains expert Dan Siemann discuss the issue in the state of Washington on the radio, check out this story.  Or see our webpage.  And if you are wondering whether this story applies to where you live: heck yes it does.  FEMA subsidizes construction in floodplains around the country even while the federal agencies charged with protecting the environment tell us it is a terrible idea.