Juneau adds Highlands drainage fix to draft capital priority list

An aging drainage system above downtown Juneau has landed on the city's draft capital priority list for the first time, with construction costs estimated at $10 million to $20 million.

The Highlands/Mount Juneau Drainage System collects mountain runoff above downtown and the community's main transportation corridor.

"The age and incompatibility of the drainage system, with increasing impacts of climate change, make the entire area at risk of severe landslides, flooding, and mass wasting events," Nate Rumsey, deputy director of Engineering and Public Works, wrote in a Sept. 21 memo.

Early funding would pay for scoping and a hydrologic and hydraulic study to weigh three options: an open channel, larger culverts or a hybrid system.

The memo asks city boards and commissions to name their top two capital projects by Oct. 23. They can endorse existing projects, nominate new ones or recommend removals. Eligible projects must cost more than $1 million and last at least 20 years. The memo recommends dropping the Bartlett Emergency Department renovation, which is fully funded and under construction.

The Juneau Commission on Sustainability takes up its picks Wednesday, and the Utility Advisory Board follows Thursday.

The list is not a direct funding request. It outlines major needs for the Alaska State Legislature and the state's federal delegation. The Assembly Public Works and Facilities Committee is scheduled to review the list Nov. 30, with introduction set for Dec. 14 and adoption expected in January.