Anacortes extends Whistle Lake Dam study after FEMA stop-work order

Anacortes extends Whistle Lake Dam study after FEMA stop-work orderAnacortes City Council has approved a second extension to the $365,000 Whistle Lake Dam Analysis grant, moving its end date to 17 May 2027. The analysis was suspended in April 2025 pending FEMA approval of a hazard-mitigation-plan update.

Council approved the Department of Ecology grant amendment as part of its consent agenda on 5 October.

FEMA required a halt to the analysis on 16 April 2025 because Anacortes did not have an approved hazard mitigation plan incorporating all dam-related risks.

The $365,000 analysis is funded by a $237,250 Ecology share and a $127,750 city match.

The remaining work includes survey, hydrologic and geotechnical investigations, environmental permit scoping and an alternatives analysis.

Whistle Lake is no longer used for normal supply but remains an emergency backup source; Ecology has rated the dam embankment condition as Poor.

Anacortes City Council has approved an amendment extending the period of performance for its Whistle Lake Dam Analysis to 17 May 2027, after FEMA stopped the project because the city lacked an approved hazard mitigation plan incorporating the dam’s risks. The amendment, approved with the full consent agenda on 5 October, is the second schedule extension for the Washington Department of Ecology-backed work. The original agreement was due to end in September 2025, before a first extension moved the deadline to September 2026. The latest amendment retains the project’s $365,000 budget, including $237,250 from Ecology’s High Hazard Potential Dams Rehabilitation Grant programme and a $127,750 city match. FEMA directed Anacortes to halt work on 16 April 2025. The city subsequently supplied Skagit County with material for an annex to the county hazard mitigation plan. Washington Emergency Management Division has received the county plan for initial review, while Skagit County has indicated it will submit Anacortes’ annex package shortly, according to the agenda material. Once the stop-work order is lifted, the city’s consultant is expected to need about six months to finish the outstanding work. The revised grant deadline provides seven months from the anticipated completion of the mitigation-plan approval process. The project will assess whether the 1925 earth-fill and rock-fill dam meets current dam-safety requirements. Its scope includes an elevation survey of the dam, reservoir and spillway; a hydrologic assessment of the inflow design flood and spillway capacity; and geotechnical investigations of stability under static and seismic loading. The programme also includes environmental permit scoping and an alternatives analysis. Whistle Lake formerly supplied Anacortes residents and remains an emergency backup water source, although it is no longer used for routine municipal supply. The 15ft-high, 75ft-long dam impounds up to 200 acre-feet. FEMA classifies it as having high downstream hazard potential, while Ecology has assessed the embankment condition as Poor. The city says missing construction specifications, plans and inspection records mean it is unknown whether the structure meets minimum hydrologic and geotechnical requirements. The alternatives study is intended to identify actions to reduce long-term risks and could examine maintenance, dam or spillway modifications, a downstream backup dam, or dam removal.