As rainfall inundated the Pacific Northwest this month, swelling the region’s rivers to record levels, the Desimone levee seemed destined to fail.
Severe flooding in 2020 had damaged the 2.2-mile earthen barrier near Tukwila. Muddy waters from the Green River bubbled up on the opposite side and seeped into nearby properties. A King County report months later described the levee’s weakened state as the “most important issue” on the river’s lower reach.
The years that followed were filled with red tape and bureaucratic infighting among the agencies most responsible for the region’s levee system: King County, its flood control district and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. All the while, cities in the flood plain clamored for help, and the Desimone awaited repair…