Olympia Tides Provide Sea Level Rise Lessons

Above: What was predicted to be the highest tide in Olympia this winter didn’t happen Thursday morning, but local science teacher Lara Tukarski, above, wasn’t disappointed. Every king tide is a new learning opportunity.

Olympia’s draft sea level rise adaption plan for up to 68 inches is estimated to cost between $190 to $350 million

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Every king tide is a new learning opportunity, even when it isn’t all that exciting.

At 16.95 feet, Thursday’s tide was predicted to be the highest in Olympia this winter, but it topped out at 16.5 feet, said Andy Haub, water resources director for the City of Olympia.

“The barometric pressure was relatively high, so the tides were about 0.3 or 0.4 feet lower than predicted. It’s when the pressure is low that things get interesting,” said Haub, who announced last week that he is leaving his position with the city on April 5.

For the city, storm surges from nearby Budd Inlet make for “interesting” training sessions in the protection of infrastructure and businesses from dramatic downtown street and parking lot flooding.

Notably, the first sites prone to flooding are Capitol Lake, Fourth and Water Street, and the Oyster House Restaurant on Fourth Avenue and Sylvester Street.

The highest tides in Washington usually occur in winter. These tides, known as king tides, occur when the sun and moon align, causing an increased gravitational pull on the Earth’s oceans.

Viewing king tides offers a chance to visualize what “the new normal” may look like for downtown Olympia in the future as sea levels rise.

Lara Tukarski, an environmental science teacher at Nova Middle School, stopped by Percival Landing during her planning period to witness the king tide. 

A climate resiliency fellow with the Pacific Northwest Climate Leaders, Tukarski is working on a climate action project with her sixth grade students, South Sound GREEN, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Thurston Conservation District. 

South Sound GREEN is a watershed education program that engages about 1,200 area students in hands-on science and engineering practices related to water quality in South Sound.

Tukarski’s students will first study climate change through problem-based investigations in her classroom lab, focusing on real-time data collection. 

To learn about the regional impacts of climate change, they will then explore Olympia’s urban topography, Capitol Lake, shoreline restoration, downtown flooding, and sea level rise projections.

“My intention is that they will be designing and engineering their own ideas and plans to help mitigate sea level rise, studying all aspects of watershed health monitoring, and working with people who are involved in making the decisions about the infrastructure. 

“Then, the students are going to pitch their ideas to the city. It’ll be a combination of options. We’re going to look at what to do with existing infrastructure and what it means for the people who already live here,” Tukarski said. 

Tukarski laughed as the sounds from the construction of a new development, The Laurana, interrupted our conversation. 

The three story mixed-use development at 210 State Street, the site of the former Les Schwab building, will include a restaurant and 44 housing units just a few feet from Budd Inlet.

“ - and for those who are coming,”she added. “The city hasn’t been officially pulled into the conversation at this point, but I'm excited my students will have an opportunity to present their research and ideas to city planners next fall,” she said.  

Above: For the Percival Landing area, mid-term strategies for 24 inches of sea level rise includes a combination of raised planters, flood gates, a raised wall, a berm, and elevated paths. Photo shows the tide at 15.9 feet at 8:41 a.m. as the tide was receding.

Draft City of Olympia Sea Level Rise Adaption Plan

The city has repeatedly emphasized its commitment to saving downtown Olympia and its infrastructure from sea level rise.

Key areas include Capitol Lake and the lower Deschutes Watershed, Percival Landing, the isthmus, the LOTT Clean Water Alliance Budd Inlet Treatment Plant, the Port of Olympia Peninsula, and storm water systems.

The city’s sea level rise adaption plans will be phased in over time.

In the immediate future, up to five years, 2020 - 2025, the city will plan for up to six inches of sea level rise. The cost for these efforts is estimated to be about $1.25 million.

Mid-term, between five to thirty years, 2025 - 2050, the city will plan for up to 24 inches of sea level rise. The cost for these efforts is estimated to be about $15 million to $20 million.

Long-term, thirty or more years, 2050 and beyond, the city will plan for 68 inches of sea level rise.

The total cost for the city’s sea level rise adaption efforts to plan for up to 68 inches of sea level rise is estimated between $190 million to 350 million.

Upcoming Sea Level Rise Meetings

City of Olympia staff will be available Saturday, January 26, 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. at the Harbor House on Percival Landing to discuss sea level rise issues. 

High tide will occur at 9:50 a.m. This is a public opportunity to view potential sea level rise adaptation strategies and learn about the city’s draft sea level rise response plan.

A Joint Elected Officials meeting on Wednesday, January 30, from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at the Port of Olympia meeting room, 606 Columbia Street NW. 

This meeting is an opportunity for discussion among elected officials and staff from the City of Olympia, Port of Olympia, and LOTT Clean Water Alliance. Public comments at the meeting will be limited to written form.

Above: The draft Olympia Sea Level Rise Response Plan was revealed at a public meeting on December 11, 2018.

For more information and photos of previous king tide events, downtown flooding, Capitol Lake, joint elected officials sea level rise meetings, community presentations and Andy Haub, go to Little Hollywood at https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com and type key words into the search button.

For more information on sea level rise from the City of Olympia, go to www.olympiawa.gov/slr. To sign up for the city’s sea level rise e-newsletter, go to www.olympiawa.gov/subscribe.

Sea Level Rise: Olympia is not Alone

Above: Regional elected officials met last Wednesday evening at Olympia City Hall to discuss sea level rise response planning efforts. Members of Olympia, Lacey, and Tumwater city councils, the Port of Olympia, Thurston County, and the LOTT Clean Water Alliance were in attendance.

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Regional elected officials met January 31 to discuss the threat of sea level rise and began planning efforts to save downtown Olympia.

A sight rarely seen to discuss a singular issue, members of Olympia, Lacey, and Tumwater city councils, the Port of Olympia, Thurston County, and the LOTT Clean Water Alliance were in attendance at Olympia City Hall. 

Over 100 assets in downtown Olympia have been identified and categorized and a plan for phasing in specific actions, with an eye toward long range strategies, will begin. 

Justin Vandever of AECOM, the consultant firm hired by the entities, presented the latest sea level rise science specific to downtown Olympia. 

“We know the science is going to change…every few years we’re going to get new information. The likely sea level rise scenario will be 13 inches by 2050, and 36 inches by the end of the century…but there’s a lot of uncertainty…the high range is 24 inches by 2050,” he said.

Reminding officials that Olympia is not alone, Vandever provided examples of other cities, port districts and water and wastewater treatment plant facilities that are also facing sea level rise challenges.

Despite his experience in working with various entities, Vandever said Olympia is unique and its plans and ideas need to be relevant and flexible to the area, which includes three miles of shoreline.

Most of the graphics were overwhelming, eliciting a range of emotions, questions and comments.

Port of Olympia Commissioner EJ Zita expressed her views on mitigation and adaptation. 

“...Much of the hometown we love is going to flood. We have no choice but to adapt. Meanwhile, we can still make choices to mitigate - to slow or reduce climate change. By choosing to encourage dense urban development, especially on higher ground, we can make transportation more efficient, and preserve farmland and open spaces. By choosing renewables instead of coal in Washington State, we can make electricity cleaner. And by installing more charging stations, we can electrify vehicle transport.

“Ports can play a major role in mitigation. By cancelling the biggest oil terminal in the U.S., the Port of Vancouver discouraged oil transport and burning. Our own Port of Olympia could choose not to support fracking for fossil fuels,” she said.  

Lacey Deputy Mayor Cynthia Pratt focused her concerns on infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, fire and police stations, and the LOTT Cleanwater Alliance water and wastewater treatment plant.

“The plant represents a community investment of over $500 million dollars, and it is critical infrastructure that is essential to the continued protection of public health and our environment. It needs to be protected from sea level rise.”

She said she often hears from Lacey residents that they don't have to deal with sea level rises issues and asked Mike Strub, executive director of the LOTT Cleanwater Alliance, to explain what the impact would be to Lacey.

“When Lacey toilets back up, then they will care,” he quipped. Quickly getting serious, however, Strub explained how sea level rise will impact the whole region.

“There will be an impact on all communities. The process (of inundation) would cause the system to shut down. The Budd Inlet Treatment Plant is the mothership of the treatment system. We can keep it going for a little while, but if we lose power, we can’t get water through the plant. It wouldn’t go anywhere. It would be a serious situation. It’s a fragile line. Once that’s crossed, there are serious consequences.”

Pratt, who serves as Lacey’s representative to the LOTT Board, elaborated on her concerns to Little Hollywood after the meeting:

“LOTT will need to keep updating equipment, such as generators and pumps, which will add costs to ratepayers. I think that is an important element for Lacey because they don’t get the connection between us and Olympia’s “problem.” It’s an out-of-sight, out-of-mind issue. Obviously, if LOTT fails, there will be issues, but it also means that wastewater spills untreated into Budd Inlet....I truly think this conundrum needs to be addressed in the outreach plan. It isn’t just an Olympia, LOTT facility, Port problem but rather a system-wide issue.” 

Olympia City Councilmember Jessica Bateman asked several questions about Capitol Lake, and the assumptions used, given the possibility it could revert back to an estuary. 

The state Department of Enterprise Services is responsible for lake management. 

Andy Haub, City of Olympia water resources director for public works, responded that Capitol Lake is in the inundation zone and the intent of a plan is to accommodate whatever Capitol Lake becomes.

Port of Olympia Commissioner Bill McGregor mentioned his concerns about the protection of Cascade Pole, the former wood-treating site on port property that requires an on-site pumping and treatment system to remove contaminants from groundwater. He wondered why the state wasn’t involved in protecting its investment, since it has spent millions cleaning up the area. 

Haub admitted that Ecology nor the Department of Natural Resources has expressed interest.

Olympia City Councilmember Clark Gilman said it was hubris to try and defend what downtown looks like now and urged that environmental and social justice organizations be involved in the public planning process.

City of Tumwater councilmember Tom Oliva asked about plans to finance sea level rise planning strategies.

Haub said governing a financing plan will be hard to sustain for decades, and an umbrella organization, such as a levy or flood protection district, could be implemented.

Above: The nine-story Capitol Center Building in downtown Olympia is reflected in Capitol Lake. The artificial lake was created in 1951 through the creation of a dam that impounds the Deschutes estuary. A hearing examiner recently approved a redevelopment project for the site that would add two new, 35 foot buildings. The proposed project is within 1,000 feet of Budd Inlet and Capitol Lake.

Clarification, February 8: Lacey Deputy Mayor is on the LOTT Board and serves as the board president.

Little Hollywood regularly writes about downtown Olympia sea level rise issues. For more articles, reports, and photos, go to Little Hollywood, http://www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com, and type key words into the search button.

Witness to King Tide in Olympia

Above: A famous image painted on the side of Childhood’s End Gallery in downtown Olympia, Great Wave off Kanagawa, is a likely future for Olympia. A recent city study found that sea level rise will greatly increase wave hazards along Olympia’s shoreline in the future. Budd Inlet experienced an estimated 16.9 foot king tide on Friday. 

-January 31 Meeting of Elected Officials to Discuss Sea Level Rise Planning

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

While the Friday morning king tide was not as dramatic as in the past, the sight of high water steadily rising to the edge of the boardwalk at Percival Landing still provided an opportunity to witness the possible future of downtown Olympia.

Not as high as the predicted 17.3 foot level, tidal activity was somewhat uneventful and did not require the type of emergency city response seen for past events.

Still, Olympia area community members walked along Percival Landing and gathered at the Harbor House to witness the event.

Donuts, cookies and coffee helped foster a sense of camaraderie amid uncertainty.

Under a nearby shelter on Percival Landing, Eric Christiansen, City of Olympia’s water resources planning and engineering manager, observed the tide as it peaked at 8:40 a.m. 

The atmospheric pressure was a little above normal so it came in two to three inches under predictions, he said. Pending verification, Christiansen estimated that the tide rose to 16.9 feet.

“We’re fortunate – we didn’t see water in the streets or in the parking lots,” said Christiansen.

Above: The Capitol Building in Olympia, Washington is witness to the rising waters of Budd Inlet around the Oyster House restaurant in downtown Olympia on Friday morning. At far right is the nine story Capitol Center Building, also known as Views on 5th, currently proposed to be redeveloped and expanded. It stands in a flood zone.

Olympia, located at the southernmost tip of Budd Inlet, experiences one of the largest tide ranges in Puget Sound. Portions of the city’s downtown area and the Port of Olympia are built on fill, creating an estimated 4,000 feet of land north into Budd Inlet.

Many of these areas are susceptible to flooding, and in fact, are sinking. Add to that, Olympia is located in a region that is expected to see a ten to twenty percent increase in annual maximum precipitation by the end of the century.

In 2011, the City of Olympia funded a study to develop an engineered response to sea level rise. The study examined impacts to the downtown area for sea level rise amounts up to 50 inches. 

At 17 feet, water is seen in the streets of downtown Olympia, particularly on Sylvester Street near the Oyster House restaurant. Over 17 feet, water is seen in downtown area parking lots.

Interviewed by Little Hollywood last week, Andy Haub, City of Olympia water resources director, said that improvements were accomplished last year around areas that see the worst flooding such as the parking lot around Budd Bay Café on Percival Landing and around Olympia Supply on Seventh Avenue, which is a solid six inches below a 17 foot tide.

“The work at Columbia and Seventh Avenue has been completed. The stormwater pipe system in that area used to convey a lot of runoff from upland areas such as portions of the Capitol Campus to the low lying area by Olympia Supply. The flows would then struggle to get into Capitol Lake when lake levels were high. We needed to pump the flows, or risk flooding. Now, the upland area has been pipe directed to the outlet as a pressurized system. The flows can’t bubble up out of the street drains - it’s a sealed pipe system. We still need to pump, but only the minor flows in the immediate vicinity of Olympia Supply.  It’s a far more manageable and a far lower risk of flooding,” he said.

An open house and community workshop on January 18, 6:00 p.m. -8:00 p.m. and will be held at The Olympia Center, 222 Columbia Street NW, in downtown Olympia.

Haub referred to the city’s recently completed sea level rise response planning science review document which will be reviewed at an upcoming meeting of local elected officials on January 31.

The meeting for elected officials will be held at Olympia City Hall in council chambers from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Due to time constraints, public comment at this workshop will be limited to written form.

The document was compiled in October 2017 by AECOM, the consultant used by the City of Olympia, the Port of Olympia and the LOTT Cleanwater Alliance to identify climate hazards impacting the city. It focuses on the three primary climate hazards that will impact Olympia in the future: sea level rise, coastal storms and precipitation.

The document does not make recommendations on adoption of a specific climate change scenario and planning efforts into the city’s sea level rise response plan.

Asked what sea level rise projections the recently completed Downtown Strategy is based upon, Haub said that it doesn’t call out a specific projection.

“Our various planning work has relied on the same projections for several years now. It’s from the National Research Council’s study of potential West Coast sea rise. The numbers are pretty much the same, but we can also add in the likelihood that Olympia is subsiding at eight to twelve inches possibly by the end of the century,” added Haub. 

Besides other factors that make Olympia especially susceptible to sea level rise, the sinking of Olympia could contribute an additional four inches of sea level rise by 2030, six inches by 2050, and twelve inches by 2100, says the study.

Above: Thad Curtz, former chair of the City of Olympia's Utilities Advisory Committee, speaks with Judy Bardin, a former member of the city's Planning Commission, in the Harbor House on Friday morning. Olympia area community members gathered at and around the Harbor House to witness the king tide and catch up with each other in real time.

Editor's Note, January 7: The location for the January 18 sea level rise meeting has been corrected. It will be held at The Olympia Center.

Editor's Note, January 9: A sea level rise open house and community workshop will be held January 18. An elected officials workshop will be held January 31 in Olympia City Hall, council chambers, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The story has been corrected and Little Hollywood apologizes for the confusion. Meetings are often cancelled and locations changed. Go to the City of Olympia's sea level rise planning website for the latest information.

Little Hollywood has written many stories about previous king tides, storm surges, Olympia’s sea level rise planning, projections, and flooding in downtown Olympia. For more stories and photos, go to Little Hollywood, www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com and type key words into the search engine. To find stories on Facebook, go to Little Hollywood Media. 

Olympia Plans for Sea Level Rise

Above: Community concerns regarding the City of Olympia's plan to address sea level rise are written on yellow sticky notes, reduced to the length of a tweet, at a community meeting Tuesday night. 

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

http://www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

The City of Olympia is about to embark upon a very traditional planning process to address the most critical environmental issue threatening the city's very existence: sea level rise.

At a community meeting at the Olympia Community Center Tuesday evening, the city revealed a schedule of activities spearheaded by the city, the Port of Olympia, and the LOTT Clean Water Alliance. 

The process is expected to take 18 months.

Omnipresent yellow sticky notes were made available to capture and reduce community concerns to soundbites.

City staff also encouraged the public to place little colored coded stickers on a map of downtown Olympia to indicate answers to typical softball questions: “Where have you seen coastal flooding in Olympia in the past?” and “What are your favorite shoreline areas?” and “What features do you like?”

About 40 people were in attendance.

Andy Haub, director of water resources for the City of Olympia, began his presentation with an explanation of how, in 2010, the Olympia city council committed to protect downtown and its infrastructure.

Most notably, this includes the Budd Inlet Treatment Plant, located in downtown Olympia, which treats the region’s 12 million gallons of wastewater per day. Valued at $500 million, relocating the plant would cost an estimated $1.2 billion.

Built on fill about 100 years ago, the area of the Port of Olympia, the seventh largest marina in the state, is also expected to be dramatically impacted by just one foot of sea level rise.

“The time is now, and we’re vulnerable….The future doesn’t feel that far away anymore,” said Haub. 

Susan Clark, project manager for the city’s sea level rise plan, outlined how the plan will be developed and engages the public.

The city has hired an international engineering firm, AECOM, to help implement the plan.

“At $250,000, the planning process reflects the next step. It is not the end point of sea level rise planning….We want to get this right. It’s too important not to,” said Clark.

She said that over 20 internal working groups are working to develop a framework for the plan. The groups include staff from many departments, including parks, transportation and emergency management, along with elected officials.

An inventory of assets will be conducted, including open space, from the Fourth Avenue Bridge and the isthmus to East Bay and Marine Drive. Private property on East Bay and West Bay will not be included. Then, a vulnerability assessment on those assets will be conducted.

The final step will develop adaptation strategies such as tide gates and retrofits to existing buildings.

The city says it will conduct focus groups with the business community and others, including three workshops, the first to be held in October. The idea is to wrap up the plan by December 2018.

The city has a new electronic newsletter addressing sea level rise planning issues.  Community members can self-subscribe to it at olympiawa.gov/subscribe

Above: The city is looking to cutting edge sea level rise planning efforts currently underway around the country. It is particularly looking for guidance from the San Francisco Sea Level Rise Action Plan and the Marin Shoreline Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Assessment. The draft Marin Ocean Coast Sea Level Rise Adaptation Report is currently out for public review, said Susan Clark, project manager for the City of Olympia's sea level rise planning efforts.

Several audience members expressed their displeasure with the Port’s contract with Rainbow Ceramics and continued acceptance of ceramic proppants. Others wondered where the funding was going to come from to protect downtown.

Rueben Males was disappointed with the region’s approach to sea level rise planning, and said so at the meeting. He has started an organization called Jobs in Renewable Energy, a non-profit cooperative whose purpose is to incubate worker owned cooperatives.

He said he wants the Port of Olympia to be part of the climate solution, and not the problem, by initiating job creation to renewable energy and promoting the local sale of locally produced electricity.

He suggested that the Port of Olympia host the space necessary for a solar farm at the port district's airport property and/or for a solar farm at the port property on Budd Bay.

Community member Judy Bardin, along with several others, was disappointed that the city has apparently still not reached out to local environmental organizations for their assistance and guidance on sea level rise issues.

“Stakeholders are taxpayers,” she said. In April, after the last community meeting, Bardin provided the city a comprehensive list of local organizations to contact.

When asked what organizations the city has consulted with to date, Haub responded that he has met with the city’s Planning Commission and two Rotary groups, and the Coalition of Neighborhood Associations.

“We need to define what downtown means to us…We can’t capture it all, I’m sure. Give us suggestions and a venue and we’ll be there,” Haub responded.

Local attorney Charlie Roe, father of Olympia city councilmember Jeannine Roe, said that one of the requirements of stated law within the state's Shoreline Management Act is that one option needs to be no action. He asked if the possibility of no action on sea level rise has been ruled out.

“The state is providing some guidance on climate change and sea level rise but it is not a clear mandate. We see this as a local initiative...we have chosen to incorporate it into the city’s version of the Act, requiring setbacks along the shoreline…Unfortunately, to be candid, the guidance from federal and state government is very limited these days and we need to move forward,” responded Haub.

Little Hollywood has written extensively on downtown Olympia sea level rise issues, flooding incidents, the management of Capitol Lake, and current sea level rise projections for Olympia with maps and photos.

Recent articles include “Olympia Starts Sea Level Rise Planning” at http://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com/2017/04/olympia-starts-sea-level-rise-planning.html and “Olympia’s Sea Level Rise Plan Begins with Port, LOTT” at http://www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com/2017/04/olympias-sea-level-rise-plan-begins.html

For more articles, go to Little Hollywood, http://www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com and type key words into the search button.

Above: Former City of Olympia councilmember Karen Messmer was happy to express a few opinions about the city's sea level rise plan using several yellow sticky notes at Tuesday night's community meeting.

Olympia Starts Sea Level Rise Planning

Above: Over 100 interested community members attended the City of Olympia's annual sea level rise report to the community, delivered by Andy Haub, the city's water resources director, at the Olympia Center on February 8. Olympia is starting a coordinated sea level rise response plan with the Port of Olympia and the LOTT Clean Water Alliance.

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

http://www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

“This is going to go on forever…this will be our future,” said Andy Haub, City of Olympia water resources director, about the city's planning for sea level rise. 

Speaking to the city’s citizen utility advisory committee on Thursday evening, Haub provided an update on the city’s sea level rise plan and the committee's role in its implementation. 

The citizen advisory committee is charged with overseeing the city’s sea level rise planning process.

Looking at a draft plan schedule that included typical public outreach tools employed by the city, the group was quiet and seemingly a bit daunted by the responsibility. 

When a member questioned how they should go about their role, Haub admitted that there is no clear recipe.

“You’ll have to use your collective judgement,” Haub said, acknowledging that sea level science is evolving, but there are strategies the city can draw upon from around the country and the world.

They agreed that the ultimate governance for the plan, whatever that plan turns out to be, needs to be carried through the whole process, and not left to the end.

At its regular Tuesday meeting, April 11, the Olympia city council is expected to sign an interlocal agreement with the Port of Olympia and the LOTT Clean Water Alliance for the planning and assessment of sea level rise issues.

The city, Port of Olympia, and LOTT all own properties and have responsibilities in the area where sea level rise is expected to inundate downtown Olympia.

An international engineering firm, AECOM, has been chosen to help the city determine the plan’s scope of work and ensure a robust public involvement process.

The scope of work will focus on the development of a sea level rise plan and provide recommendations for capital projects, funding needs, implementation schedules, and emergency response protocols.

The plan will include a full analysis of options for responding to various sea level rise scenarios over a 100 year time frame, and look for ideas from other areas of the United States and the world.

The city, port, and LOTT will divide the costs for consulting services. The port and LOTT will pay up to $75,000 each and the city will pay at least $75,000. Total costs for consulting are not to exceed $250,000 without further negotiation and approval.

According to science based research and multiple reports, there is no doubt sea level rise will impact downtown Olympia as we know it.

Thad Curtz, former chair of the Utility Advisory Committee citizen advisory committee, was one of several community members who expressed concerns on Thursday about the plan’s scope of work.

“The staff presentation said that we’re eventually going to have eight feet of sea level rise. We ought to be thinking about (a plan) with respect to earthquake risk. If we have four feet of sea water outside of whatever we build, and we have an earthquake that impacts a dike or whatever, we’re going to have very serious costs. We need to be planning to deal with that.

“We’re talking about restoration of Budd Inlet at the same time we’re talking about seriously altering the shoreline from Priest Point Park to West Bay. We also have the whole Capitol Lake process going on. Those planning processes ought to be related to each other.

“We [also ought] to have a conversation about setbacks. How much room do we need between buildings and the shore if we’re going to have to deal with eight feet? We can’t just talk about sea level rise as if it’s something by itself,” said Curtz, who said he intends to stay involved with the conversation.

Former city planning commission member Judy Bardin said that adaptation for sea level rise will be a huge and costly undertaking, noting that city staff estimates that sea level rise adaptation for downtown Olympia will cost in excess of $60 million, and the pumping system alone could be $37 million.

“If the public is going to be asked to pay for sea level rise mitigation in any way, they need to be brought into the conversation now, especially in the scoping of the plan…we need to involve our neighborhoods and the environmental community,” she said.

Helen Wheatley of Olympia asked staff and the utility advisory committee members to think of all people who are impacted by utility decisions and plans.

“It includes everyone from low income apartment dwellers, to treaty tribe members struggling to preserve and enhance salmon habitat in the face of over a century of catastrophic assaults on the ecosystem,” she said.

Wheatley urged that the plan take a “safety first” approach that considers the realities of who lives there, who will live there in the future, and how we live.

“Is it fair or right to drive people into the flood zone because they don’t own a house?” she asked.

“Sea level rise will not happen overnight, but its progression will be relentless. We can choose to transition ourselves into a newer city by moving uphill. How long we hang on to different parts of downtown will involve tough financial, emotional, technical, and political decisions,” said Walt Jorgensen of Tumwater.

Sea Level Rise Community Update

Above: In what has become a familiar scene, the city's public works team, with Andy Haub, City of Olympia water resources director, in yellow jacket, stationed themselves near the Oyster House restaurant on Sylvester Street in downtown Olympia on the morning of March 10, 2016, to monitor the surge from nearby Budd Inlet.

Haub gave his annual sea level rise update to the community on February 8 at the Olympia Center. Over 100 people were in attendance.

Haub described how the city is currently needing to manage four to five significant downtown flooding incidents per year. To add to that scenario, downtown Olympia appears to be sinking at the rate of one inch per decade. 

A situation of low atmospheric pressure creates exceptional high tides, turning moderate tides into high tides, and high tides into extreme tides.

“That whole dynamic is absolutely fascinating…the intensity of storms will increase. Our downtown streets are flat, not deep, so water will spread far,” said Haub, who has long reported that the city could manage one foot, or maybe two feet of water, but no more than that. 

Vertical gates, flood barriers, elevated landscapes, and the strategic placement of planter box barriers will only work up to a certain point.

“We’re planning for two feet of sea level rise by 2050, but with two feet of water flooding downtown every other day, it just won’t work for long,” he said.

Audience members were at all different levels of understanding about sea level science, and peppered Haub with questions about sea level rise projections for downtown, Budd Inlet flood dynamics, and the city’s plan in relationship to other plans, such as the multi-year, $250,000 study called the Downtown Strategy.

The Downtown Strategy has a 20 year planning horizon, leaving many to wonder why the city is encouraging downtown development, and how sea level rise fits in.

Although port commissioners and city council members were present in the audience, Haub stood alone, fielding questions while facilitating a complicated conversation during his PowerPoint presentation. Lacking support, he lost control of the meeting about 20 minutes into the program.

Frustrating some audience members, Haub unquestionably defended the city’s stance that downtown must be saved. Several audience members expressed their opinion that the best solution is to retreat to higher ground. Haub responded that a retreat is not consistent with the city’s Comprehensive Plan.

Haub did not have answers for many questions, including the impact of sea water salinity on downtown’s underground and above ground electrical systems.

“Downtown is vulnerable. We have to accept and acknowledge the risk. This plan will start addressing how we balance and manage new development. There’s a way we can do it, it’s just not cohesive at this point,” he said, adding that the city has a lot of investments in downtown Olympia, most notably the region's LOTT water and wastewater system, which is valued at $1.2 billion.

Above: During times of high tide and favorable atmospheric pressure, certain areas of downtown Olympia are inundated with storm surge from Budd Inlet, overloading storm water systems. The area on State Street in downtown Olympia near the former Les Schwab tire store building at 210 State Street experiences flooding several times a year. The vacant building lies mere feet from Budd Inlet and is now owned by developer Walker John, who proposes to turn the property into a restaurant and 40 unit housing development. Photo taken March 10, 2016.

For numerous articles about sea level rise and flooding incidents in downtown Olympia, the management of Capitol Lake, current sea level rise projections for Olympia with photos and maps, go to Little Hollywood, http://www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com and type key words into the search button.

The city's Utility Advisory Committee meets on the first Thursday of the month, at 5:40 p.m., in Olympia City Hall, Room 207, 601 4th Avenue East. For more information, go to www.olympiawa.gov.