A 14-month, $342,000 project that will explore ways to minimize flooding and property damage along Paradise Creek in Moscow started last month, Moscow Planning Manager Mike Ray told the Moscow City Council Public Works/Finance Committee on Monday.
The city received a $295,200 Federal Emergency Management Agency grant to cover most of the $342,000 project, which is slated to be completed in March 2022. The city will cover the remaining cost. The grant funding the city received stemmed from flooding in Moscow in spring 2017.
The study will explore potential flood hazard mitigation alternatives and determine the most viable method(s) to resolve flooding issues. The project area includes Paradise Creek from Darby Road near Mountain View Park to the State Highway 8 underpass — an area that receives the most extensive flooding from Paradise Creek.
The study will include a field survey of current channel conditions, an assessment of hydrologic conditions within the watershed and development of a hydraulic model to understand how flooding events occur and how to respond within the community.
Aspect Consulting of Yakima, Wash., the project consultant, started to gather data, such as soil types, topography and historic flood records and photos in Moscow, Ray said.
He said a technical advisory committee was formed as part of the project. It includes representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Latah County Disaster Services, Idaho Department of Water Resources, Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute, Idaho Office of Emergency Management and the city of Moscow. Two open houses are planned, including a virtual one next month.
“It’s a big, complicated project but it seems to be off to a good start with the various stakeholder input and the consulting firm that’s doing it,” City Councilor Art Bettge said.
Once the study is complete and methods to resolve flooding issues are recommended, Ray said it is possible the city could obtain grant funding to construct the measures. Examples of flood mitigation efforts could include culvert work, replacing bridges or shifting water from one location to another, Ray said.
In other business, the committee recommended approving a draft master services agreement with the University of Idaho, which outlines a plan for the city to continue providing emergency response services to the university. The proposed agreement would last five years and then could be renewed for additional five years.
The initial contract amount for fiscal year 2021, which started Oct. 1, would be the same as the 2020 contract amount ($1,460,775) with subsequent increases of 1 percent in 2022, 2 percent in 2023 and 3 percent in 2024 and subsequent fiscal years.
City Supervisor Gary Riedner said details regarding the city’s upcoming purchase of a ladder truck, which the UI is expected to cover half the cost, are still under discussion and will be completed prior to final approval by the Moscow City Council and the UI. The university will present the proposed agreement to the Idaho State Board of Education at the board’s December meeting.
