Due to heavy rains, potential flooding in the Deschutes River, and potentially very high tides, Department of Enterprise Services and City of Olympia crews are preparing for possible flooding in areas near Capitol Lake, including Heritage Park, on Friday, Feb. 10 between 6 and 9 a.m.

City and agency staff are asking citizens to be careful as they commute and do business around the lake during that time.

City and Enterprise Services Staff are taking steps to ready for a response. This includes staging materials in the area such as sandbags.

Affected areas

If flooding occurs, traffic may be affected on Adams, Columbia and Thurston streets as well as B, Fourth and Seventh avenues. Crews are preparing the area for possible traffic control measures, if needed.

The information from a flood forecasting tool that Enterprise Services uses, combined with the latest forecast from the National Weather Service office in Seattle, helps the agency and city better predict possible flooding.

Flood monitoring

The Enterprise Services flood monitoring tool helps the agency lessen the risk and severity of flooding by taking action to reduce lake levels, predict when flooding may occur, and better collaborate with the City of Olympia in advance when conditions are such that Capitol Lake cannot be drawn down enough to prevent flooding. The flood forecast tool examines:

• Tide levels
• Barometric pressure, which can change the tide levels by 1 to 2 feet
• Wind direction and speed
• Lake level settings
• Deschutes River flow

Who to call

If you witness flooding within the bike or travel lanes near Capitol Lake tomorrow, please drive carefully and contact Olympia's Public Works Dispatch at (360) 753-8333 once you can safely make a phone call.

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