Snoqualmie Valley Preservation Alliance

Programs: Launch the snoqualmie valley watershed improvement district: farmers in the snoqualmie valley face two distinct problems seasonally: too much water in the winter, and not enough in the summer. Standing water late into the spring impedes early season production, and dry hot summers make it difficult to grow valuable market crops. The svpa helped the community form the valley's first ever watershed improvement district to help tackle these two problems as a collective. The svpa staffed the new district through mid-2017, helping them establish organizational capacity, comply with state laws, and secure funding through state and local grants to address these common problems. Project completed in 2017. Estimated total spent on this project in 2017 is $65,600 in staff and out of pocket costs.

flood sensor project "floodzilla 2. 0": the lower snoqualmie valley is some of the most valuable farmland in the region, but its location within the 100-year floodplain poses challenges for farmers and other land managers. Currently there are insufficient resources to predict timing and magnitude of floods. There are few usgs gages on the snoqualmie river and too far apart to provide actionable data to aid in flood preparedness and for protecting property during flood events. The svpa is building on its existing flood warning system, www. Floodzilla. Com, to install additional gages across the landscape, and make that data available to the community during flood events. In 2017, we expanded the work group, and built and tested 20 flood sensors capable of sending real-time data on flood elevations during flood events. Product design, software engineering, and installation remains volunteer-driven. Implementation has begun to shift towards staff, hence the increased investment in svpa funds towards this project over 2016. Total estimated spent on this project in materials and staff time in 2017 is $14,000.

community involvement in watershed planning: staff and board members continue to be involved in critical watershed planning efforts with our partners in local, state and federal agencies, as well as nonprofits. We participated in the fish-farm-flood advisory committee, a mutli-year, multi-stakeholder planning process. We visit other watersheds to share information, and provide feedback and community point of view on a regular basis. We continue to promote valley-wide solutions to problems related to flood impacts total estimated spent on this project in out of pocket costs and staff time in 2017 is $13,000.

the taste of the valley farm dinner and benefit auction - svpa's largest fundraising event and largest outreach event. Members of the valley and greater seattle community, elected officials, agency staff, farmers, and chefs come together to learn more about the agricultural valley, what makes it unique, and threats and challenges that exist. Total estimated amount spent on out of pocket costs and staff time in 2017 is $40,478. Svpa continues to monitor plans and projects that are proposed, especially development, that have downstream impacts to the lower snoqualmie valley.