Title
Sea Level Rise Response Planning Update
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
No action required - briefing only
Report
Issue:
Briefing the Utility Advisory Committee on sea level rise response planning efforts
Staff Contact:
Eric Christensen, Water Resources Director, Public Works Department, 360.570.3741
Presenter:
Eric Christensen
Background and Analysis:
Downtown Olympia has always been vulnerable to flooding. The confluence of high water levels in Capitol Lake and high tides in Budd Inlet can cause water to overtop the shoreline and spill into downtown streets and low-lying areas. Even with minimal amounts of sea level rise, the risk to our downtown's built environment and its many community services increases quickly and substantially. Downtown flooding is anticipated to become more frequent and severe in the future.
The City's awareness of and work related to climate change and sea level rise dates back to the early 1990s. Olympia was one of the first cities in the nation to begin planning for climate change. The City completed numerous studies since the early 1990s (visit the Sea Level Rise webpage to view):
- City of Olympia's Response to the Challenge of Global Climate Change (1991)
- City of Olympia Preliminary Assessment of Sea Level Rise in Olympia, WA (1993)
- City of Olympia's Response to the Challenge of Climate Change (2007)
- City of Olympia's Engineered Response to Sea Level Rise (2011)
In early 2017, the City, the Port and LOTT established an Interlocal Agreement (ILA) to jointly fund and participate in a formal sea level rise planning process for downtown Olympia, the Budd Inlet Treatment Plant and the Port peninsula. The collaboration resulted in the Olympia Sea Level Rise Response Plan (Plan) adopted in 2019. The Utility Advisory Committee played a role throughout the development of the plan and provided a letter recommending its adoption. As a reminder, the Plan envisioned a phased approach with comprehensive near-t...
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