Surface Water Management Division

Flood Hazard Management Planning

The county addresses flood control issues is through a comprehensive flood hazard management planning program that incorporates a selection of planning, engineering, and environmental protection measures.

Traditional flood control measures generally refer to engineering projects intended to control flood waters, such as the building of levees and dikes and dredging rivers. Nationwide the current focus is on floodplain management, which refers to the operation of an overall program of preventative measures to reduce flood damage.

The county’s floodplain management actions include participation in the National Flood Insurance Program, the Community Rating System (CRS), and the adoption of floodplain development regulations (see PDS Bulletin #42) that meet federal requirements, emergency preparedness plans, and comprehensive flood hazard management plans for the main rivers, which propose actions to minimize future flood damage. The completed plans can be accessed from this Web page, and are listed below.

Also listed below is some general information on flood hazard management issues in the county, and the Snohomish County Flood Insurance Study (FIS). This study developed the flood risk data for the various areas of the county, which is used to establish flood insurance rates and as a basis for the county’s floodplain management programs. The analyses used to prepare the FIS are also used to prepare the Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), which show flood hazard areas in the county. The FIS provides information to supplement the FIRM.

• Flood Hazard Management Issues in Snohomish County (view pdf document)
• Snohomish County Flood Insurance Study (large document broken into smaller pdfs)

Volume 1 of 2	Volume 2 of 2
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6	Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10

Floodplain Mapping

• Flood Insurance Rate Maps - How to find out if a property is within a special flood hazard area
  
  
• Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps (DFIRM) Project 

Flood Hazard Management Plans

• Sauk River Flood/Erosion Hazard Management Plan
• Snohomish River Comprehensive Flood Control Management Plan
• Stillaguamish River Comprehensive Flood Hazard Management Plan
• North Creek Comprehensive Flood Hazard Management Plan - Draft report to be updated to incorporate ESA (Endangered Species Act) requirements.
• Skykomish Comprehensive Flood Hazard Management Plan - Draft report to be updated to incorporate ESA (Endangered Species Act) requirements.
• Snohomish County Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan (SCNHMP) - The SCNHMP addresses nine types of natural disasters (including flooding) that could occur in Snohomish County, assessing risk levels and proposing mitigation actions to minimize damage. The Plan is currently being updated, with adoption anticipated by May 2010.

Contacts

John Engel, Program Supervisor, 425-388-6482 
Bob Aldrich, Project Specialist, 425-388-6424 
Chris Nelson, Hydraulic Engineer, 425-388-3464, ext. 4696 
Michael Smith, Stream Gaging Technician, 425-388-3464, ext. 4618 
Mary Hurner, Senior Planner, 425-388-6401
Rick Vining, Engineering Technician, 425-388-3464, ext. 4558 

PDF document links can be viewed using Adobe Acrobat Reader. To download the latest version of this program, view the instructions on this Web site.