Steve Bleifuhs Memorial Flood Reduction Grant (Washington)

The King County Flood Control District (Flood Control District) Steve Bleifuhs Memorial Flood Reduction Grant Program targets medium and small local flood reduction projects in King County.

Donor Name: King County Flood Control District

State: Washington

County: King County (WA)

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 05/23/2025

Size of the Grant: More than $1 million

Grant Duration: 3 Years

Details:

Grant Categories

The Flood Control District is offering funds in a total of four grant categories:

Original Flood Reduction Grants
Urban Streams
Coastal Erosion/Coastal Flooding
Culvert Replacement/Fish Passage.

Funding Information

The total amount available for Flood Reduction Grants for 2025 is at least $13 million
There is no minimum or cap on the individual award amount. Grants awarded in the past have ranged from $10,000 to $1,500,000
Matching/leveraged funds are encouraged but not required – this is taken into consideration during the scoring process.

Grant Period

The expenditure of funds must be completed no later than 36 months after signing the grant agreement.

Criteria for Projects

All projects must meet the following requirements:
- The proposed project must provide a flood reduction benefit so that it directly addresses existing or potential flooding
- The proposed project must provide a clear economic benefit that extends beyond the applicant to the broader public good, such as but not limited to:
  - Maintaining public access to residences, businesses or infrastructure
  - Maintaining safe roads for conveying people, goods, and emergency services
  - Maintaining existing agricultural or recreational uses
  - Addressing existing or potential threats from flooding to public safety, water quality or infrastructure
  - Maintaining populations of anadromous fish
- The proposed project must include on-the-ground structural improvements with the following exceptions:
  - Proposals may be phased so they include site assessment, design, and/or permitting only, as long as the application demonstrates that these early phases will ultimately lead to construction of on-the-ground structural improvements in a future phase (i.e., construction phase not funded under this current round)
  - The project involves the assessment of existing conditions related to the creation of lake management districts
In addition to these general requirements, the more specific categories will meet the following criteria/guidelines:
- Category: Original Flood Reduction
  - This general category will continue to be funded for projects within King County that will result in potential or existing flood reduction and meet the general criteria listed above, but do not fit in any of the more specific new categories
  - Example project types include stormwater retrofit, lake outflow modification, lake flooding, agricultural drainage improvements, slope stabilization, design/permitting of drainage improvement projects
- Category: Urban Streams
  - Must reduce risks from urban flooding to property or public infrastructure
  - Must be located within urban growth areas in King County
  - Example project types include green infrastructure, sediment ponds, flow control, stream restoration, habitat restoration, water quality improvement, design/permitting of improvement projects
- Category: Coastal Erosion/Coastal Flooding
  - Must be located within a mapped flood zone along the Puget Sound shoreline of King County.
  - Must result in reducing potential or existing flooding
  - Must focus on increasing resiliency to sea level rise in coastal flood hazard areas.
  - Must restore shorelines and/or retrofit or relocate infrastructure out of flood-prone areas to reduce risk
  - Cannot result in any increase in hard armored shoreline such as bulkheads, seawalls, or hardened revetments
  - May include acquisition as long as demolition/relocation of structures out of flood-prone areas is included or addressed under this or other funding
  - Example project types include acquisition and restoration, demolition of at-risk structures, relocation of houses or other structures at tops of bluffs at risk for landslide due to coastal erosion, removal of armoring/bulkheads, modification of shoreline stabilization to use soft armoring techniques, design/permitting of shoreline stabilization
- Category: Culvert Replacement/Fish Passage
  - Must restore fish passage by replacing and/or removing culverts or other instream structures that have been identified as partial or complete barriers to fish passage
  - Must demonstrate reduction of potential or existing flood risks as well as improving fish passage
  - Must demonstrate that project reflects a coordinated effort to restore fish passage in the watershed
  - Must demonstrate that the project has been or will be designed to meet or exceed minimum fish passage standards per Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife requirements
  - Can include stream shoreline stabilization and habitat improvement near fish passage barriers that will be remedied
  - Example project types include replacement or removal of barriers to fish passage, revegetation to improve habitat and reduce erosion in areas affected by removal of blockages, design and permitting of barrier removal/replacement.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligible for all four categories:
- Non-profit organizations or associations
- Special purpose districts
- Tribes
- Cities and towns within King County
- King County agencies
Eligible for the Original Flood Reduction Grant category only:
- Homeowner associations
- Schools.