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Construction complete on flood mitigation project in No. 1 Canyon

Construction was completed in March on four new debris basins on the upper portion of No. 1 Canyon Road in Wenatchee. The basins will detain and release reoccurring, debris-laden floodwaters that often strike the canyon following rain events or during heavy snowmelt.

The No. 1 Canyon Debris Basins project was built on county-owned land at the end of the county roadway. The construction portion of the project cost about $1.3 million. It was paid for with a nearly $1 million grant from FEMA and with money from the Chelan County Flood Control Zone District.

Video footage of the project gives an eagle-eye view of the completed debris basins.

Located immediately west of Wenatchee, the No. 1 Canyon basin sits along the east slopes of the Cascade Mountain foothills. The canyon’s natural drainage system has a long history of experiencing occasional heavy runoff – and even debris and mud flows. But these flows, typically caused by high intensity storms, have grown more destructive as the Wenatchee community’s urban area has grown.

When these flows leave the basin’s natural channel, they flow into existing residential developments, the City of Wenatchee’s stormwater system and, at times, the Columbia and Wenatchee rivers.

On a much smaller scale, a similar series of detention basins was built in 2015 further down No. 1 Canyon Road, at milepost 2.6. Over the last five years, it has proven to decrease the amount of sediment entering the City of Wenatchee's stormwater system, with the sediment being replaced with an increase in the volume of water.

Read more about the project on its webpage.

Last Updated: 05/15/2023 08:48 AM

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