Juneau weighs $5.5 million more for flood recovery on a river that floods every year

Juneau is putting another $5,543,701 toward flood recovery, in four ordinances the Assembly took up Monday. Outburst floods have hit the city every year since 2011.

The largest would set aside $4,033,711 toward the HESCO flood barriers along the Mendenhall River. Juneau's share of the barriers is capped at $12,922,500 — half of a state loan written for twice that, with the rest forgiven once repayment begins. The project's original cost split was 40 percent to riverbank property owners and 60 percent to the City and Borough of Juneau.

A second ordinance would appropriate $582,000 to repair 1,300 linear feet of Mendenhall riverbank damaged in the August 2024 glacier lake outburst flood. The money comes through the Tlingit Haida Regional Housing Authority, which won a $600,000 federal grant for imminent threats and passed most of it to the city. The city says that flood affected 173 tribally owned homes and 470 families.

A third would transfer $500,000 into a reserve to rebuild driveways, fences and other riverbank features the city removed for the barriers. Under a 2024 ordinance the money stays in reserve until the barriers come out and the Assembly enacts a restoration program.

A fourth would appropriate $427,990 in Federal Emergency Management Agency reimbursements for the 2024 flood — $406,000 for embankment armoring at Antler Way and $21,990 in staff overtime. Additional applications remain under FEMA review.

The city calls the barriers temporary mitigation while it pursues a long-term fix, and has not said how the recurring costs get divided among local, state, federal and private parties.

Public hearings are set for the Assembly's next regular meeting, which has not been scheduled.