Drafter
Clerk 10/20/2009
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AN ORDINANCE making a supplemental appropriation of $34,624,674 to various capital funds to prepare county facilities so that high priority service delivery will not be interrupted in the event that Howard Hanson dam structural faults cause flooding in the Green River valley; and amending the 2009 Budget Ordinance, Ordinance 16312, Sections 27, 107, 114, 115, 125 and 127, as amended, and Attachments B and D, as amended; and declaring an emergency.
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BE IT ORDAINED BY THE KING COUNTY COUNCIL:
SECTION 1. Findings:
A. The United States Army Corps of Engineers ("USACE") discovered damage on the right abutment at the federally-owned and operated Howard Hanson dam has dramatically increased the risk of significant flooding in King County's Green River valley for years to come.
B. The federal government has the sole responsibility from Congress for ensuring operation of the Howard Hanson dam for the purposes of protecting the residents and businesses in the Green River valley from the ravages of flooding.
C. The Howard Hanson dam is the primary flood protection facility for the entire Green River valley stretching from unincorporated areas of King County nearest the dam, through the cities of Auburn, Kent, Renton and Tukwila, and to the Duwamish river in south Seattle.
D. The Green river watershed encompasses an area of approximately four hundred ninety-two square miles.
E. The Howard Hanson dam was designed to hold back up to one hundred six thousand acre-feet of water, which is 34,540,206,000 gallons, to protect the Green River valley from flooding, and as a result of the damage to the abutment of the Howard Hanson dam, the USACE has determined that it might have to operate the dam at only approximately one-third of its normal capacity to prevent a breach of the entire dam.
F. To maintain the capacity restrictions that protect the dam during major rain storms, the USACE might have to release up to sevent...
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