The City of Burien is updating the Storm Drainage Master Plan, which was last published in 2012. The plan will guide where the City focuses its efforts to reduce urban flooding and protect water quality in Miller Creek, Salmon Creek, and Puget Sound.
We invite you to add your voice to the update of the Storm Drainage Master Plan. If you have observed flooding, erosion, or a water quality concern related to stormwater runoff around town, please use our interactive map to let us know.
In part, the Storm Drainage Master Plan helps assess the staffing and budget resources needed to comply with stormwater regulations from the state. The City expects the Washington Department of Ecology to issue a new municipal stormwater permit later in 2019. Anticipated changes to the permit would require the City to do more to protect water the quality of our valued surface waters. The plan update will address these regulatory changes.
The Storm Drainage Master Plan also includes a Stormwater Capital Improvement Program (CIP) to select the most important or effective capital projects that will address flooding, drainage, erosion, or water quality related to stormwater runoff throughout the City of Burien. Since the 2012 plan, the City has completed four of eight capital improvement projects that were planned. These include a pipe capacity improvement at 4th Avenue SW and a drainage improvement at 152nd Street and 8th Avenue SW. One additional drainage improvement at 20th Avenue South is currently being designed.
City staff and the public have continued to observe and document additional locations of concern for poor drainage, stormwater maintenance needs, or erosion. The plan update will prioritize which of these newfound issues are the most important to resolve. A revised stormwater CIP will be developed to address the most important ones.