With lower Green River flood odds, King County officials say they’ll keep put the cats and dogs of the Kent Animal Shelter, rather than moving them to a temporary site, as had been announced earlier this fall.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reported last week that repairs at the Howard Hanson Dam will reduce the risk of flooding this winter to a 1-in-25 chance, from the previous 1-in-3 chance that would have remained, without the temporary fix.
The addition of thousands of giant sandbags along the Green River levees reduces the chance of flooding even more, to 1-in-32 chance, said Col. Anthony Wright, commander of the Seattle district of the Army Corps.
That came as welcome news to shelter officials, considering the facility, located at 21615 68th Ave. S., sits near the Green River.
“That has taken the pressure off of an immediate move,” said Christine Lange, spokeswoman for King County Animal Care and Control, in a phone interview Monday. “But we are not out of the woods yet.”
King County officials had announced last month the animals would be moved from the Kent Shelter to other sites by Nov. 1 because of flood threats. But after getting the news that the flood threat had lessened considerably, the county put that plan on hiatus, provided there was a plan in place to take them to higher ground if floodwaters did come.
“The County Executive (Kurt Triplett) determined that they may be able to stay during the flood season with a robust evacuation plan in place and an alternate facility in place if we need to evacuate,” Lange said.
The specifics of how fast or where the animals would be moved during an evacuation are still being determined, Lange said, adding they’re hoping to have an alternate site lined up by next week.
County officials say as much as 3 to 4 feet of water could flood the Kent Shelter if the river levees overflow in a worst-case flood event.
“We are using a (Green River) flow of 17,500 cubic feet per second as a flood scenario,” Lange said. “We are planning off of that.”
The improved levees along the river in Kent are designed to handle a river flow of 13,900 cubic feet per second.
County officials also are working to get out of the animal sheltering business by Jan. 31, 2010, and turning the duties over to local cities and nonprofit, private groups. Thirty-two cities, including Kent, contract with the county to provide animal care and control services.
Brenda Barnette, chief executive officer of the Seattle Humane Society in Bellevue, said Wednesday that her agency has been in negotiations with the county to serve as that alternate site.
“We’ve said that no matter where we are in negotiations, if they have to vacate the Kent Shelter, we’ll take all of the animals,” Barnette said.
The Kent Shelter has about 250 cats and 50 dogs at the facility. County officials have stopped taking animals dropped off by owners who no longer want their pets, in an effort to reduce the number of animals at the shelter.
“We need to keep the population low enough so we can move pretty quickly,” Lange said.
Pet owners who want to give up their animals can find information about alternative locations at www.kingcounty.gov/safety/AnimalServices/animalcontrol/ownersurrender.aspx.
The shelter still takes in strays as well as animals brought in by animal-control officers.
Also in an effort to spur adoptions, the county has waived adoption fees for dogs and cats in an effort to get more animals out of the shelter. Anyone who wants to adopt a pet only needs to pay for the pet license.
For a list of adoptable pets, go to www.kingcounty.gov/pets.
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