Feds to fund La Conner flood dike study

After years of lobbying by town officials, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has agreed to fund a study aimed at building a dike to protect La Conner from flooding from the Skagit River.

Under the Corp’ dike proposal, if the study proves the project to be feasible, it would be built in 2018.

And the agency is ready to fund $100,000 for the feasibility study, which will begin this year.

If the engineering study costs exceed that first chunk of money, the town would kick in for half the overage.

Should the plan move forward, a new levy would be built, mostly with federal money, along the northern edge of La Conner, connecting to existing dikes on agricultural land.

Mayor Ramon Hayes, Town Administrator John Doyle and council member Jacques Brunisholz have been working for years to get a so-called “ring dike” built.

The Army Corps cites a 2009 letter the mayor submitted as impetus for its decision to fund the study to kick off the project.

At last week’s council meeting, Hayes and Doyle told the council that part of the reason the federal agency looks kindly on the town is that La Conner has been setting aside money in anticipation that it would have to construct its own flood control project. This year the flood control fund is expected to reach over $188,000.

That the town is committed, Hayes said, weighed heavily in La Conner’s favor.

Also, Doyle said, the Army Corps received funding, and La Conner’s dike is something that can be built fairly quickly — by government standards — and has the potential to directly benefit hundreds of people.

“It looks like a win for them,” Doyle said. “It’s a manageable project and will save a whole community.”

With the study starting this spring, a final decision on going forward could come by the end of the year.

Should the project get the go-ahead, the majority of the cost would be paid by the Army Corps. La Conner’s share of the cost would be 35 percent. According to a report by the Army Corps, the total cost is projected to be around $4.6 million.

Even if the dike is built and gives the town added protection from flooding, town officials have said that it is not expected to lower the premiums that homeowners pay for federal flood insurance.