Why floodplains matter

Floodplains by Design (FbD) is an ambitious public-private partnership that includes:

• A multi-million dollar capital grant program led by the Department of Ecology
  • This includes technical and grant management services provided by Ecology, and co-leadership/participation in Floodplains by Design action and advisory groups.
• Dozens of local agencies, tribes, NGOs, and landowners who build partnerships to plan and implement projects and are continually working to improve floodplain resilience
  • This includes creating and sustaining local collaboratives to advance funding and implementation of integrated floodplain management projects
• And an NGO “backbone” team led by Bonneville Environmental Foundation with support from American Rivers, The Whitener Group, Carol MacIlroy Consulting, and others, that work in partnership with Ecology staff and seeks to sustain and grow integrated floodplain management funding, policy and practice in Washington State.
  • This includes co-leadership of Floodplains by Design action and advisory groups and related work, support for grant program implementation and communications, and activities aimed at developing capacity, knowledge sharing, increasing funding and advancing productive policies to support integrated floodplain management.

Together, partners seek to reduce flood damage, improve working lands, and restore habitat along Washington’s streams and rivers. Integrated floodplain management requires collaboration across interests and engagement over the long term.

Since 2013, the Washington State Legislature has appropriated $283 million to support large-scale, multiple-benefit projects across the state through the Department of Ecology’s Floodplains by Design grant program. These projects have leveraged tens of millions of additional local, federal, and private dollars to move everyone closer to their goals.

Integrated floodplain management builds upon a foundation of relationships and knowledge nurtured by tribal members and cultures for thousands of years. Tribal members and staff continue to play a key role in shaping, guiding and transforming our floodplain systems in response to significant harm created through colonization over the last 200 years.

As the pace and magnitude of extreme weather events increases and development pressures grow, the opportunity that integrated floodplains management presents only becomes clearer and more compelling.