Fear of flooding spurs $500K White River erosion project
Pierce County is working to combat erosion along the White River to protect Sumner from flooding.
If there was a high influx of water rushing down the river, the current eroded bank might be a problem for nearby warehouses and homes.
“Risk has grown to a point where it’s necessary to take action,” said Harold Smelt, a Pierce County engineering manager.
A $512,000 project to add a rock barrier to help address the issue has closed a portion of the Sumner Link Trail for six weeks.
Near the head of the trail, a 500-foot long stretch of large rocks will reinforce the existing levee. The White River has been changing course in that area, pulling off portions of the bank.
“Our goal is to stop that migration of the river,” Smelt said. “We need to make sure that what remains is protected.”
While construction is underway, the trail is open. There is a detour along 24th Street East, 140th Avenue East and 16th Street East. Construction will halt for Labor Day weekend.
The project is expected to take six weeks, Smelt said.
The White River snakes around the county’s largest industrial employment center. In 2015, the White River flooded some of Manke’s facilities in Sumner and turned 24th Street East in the industrial area into a temporary river.
Bank protection on the White River started in the beginning of the 1900s, Smelt said. For the past decade, the county has kept an eye on the river’s erosion near 16th Street East.
The rock barrier is intended as an interim measure to mitigate flooding until Sumner’s larger project is completed.
The City of Sumner is leading a $100 million project to create more space for water coming off Mount Rainier. Plans include expanding portions of the White River, creating an embankment, adding a levee and creating a wetlands environment for endangered species like chinook and sockeye salmon.
“It could be many years before Sumner’s project comes to fruition ...,” Smelt said.
