Information key in river plan

PALMER — A comprehensive river plan will not keep the Matanuska River from shifting, but it may help property owners better assess their risks.

On Monday, the Mat-Su Borough Assembly adopted the Matanuska River Management Plan, which borough staff calls “the first collaborative plan for living along the unpredictable Matanuska River.”

The long-term strategy incorporates studies done by several agencies and organizations, and emphasizes public awareness and high-risk areas, said Frankie Barker, borough planner.

“The idea is if we do some of these action steps we will have less emergencies and less property loss,” Barker said. “We know where the hot spots are today but we don’t know where they’ll be tomorrow.”

Areas in the Butte and near Sutton have experienced damage to property in the last few years as the braided, glacial-fed river meanders within what’s called its “braid plain” by hydrologists.

“One of the biggest pieces is to continue to increase community awareness about the river and how it behaves,” Barker said.

She said too many times at public hearings she has heard the lament, “If I would have known …”

New data being compiled at the U.S. Geological Survey office in Anchorage could give landowners a better idea of the vulnerability of land near the river. It could be translated into usable information for the public by late winter.

Janet Curran, hydrologist for USGS Alaska Science Center, said new maps will show geomorphic features, like bank lines and tributary fans, and outline the edge of the braid plain. Curran said they’ve used aerial photos from 1949, 1962 and 2006, along with float trips, road trips and flyovers, to pinpoint how far the river swings and how often, from the Matanuska Glacier to its mouth.

“Can we put that together as a hazard assessment?” she asked, rhetorically. Yes, within the braided plain.

“Just that alone will be helpful to the borough and homeowners,” Curran said.

It will allow the borough to establish hazard categories and help potential landowners assess risks of building within the braided plain.

“We know the river has been there and we can take the step of saying that the river can easily move back in there,” she explained.

Such maps, Barker said, along with a question on erosion she helped get on the state’s real estate disclosure forms, should help prevent people from selling homes along the river to the unsuspecting. Still, she said, education remains paramount.

“At least we’ll have something to say you are in a high-risk area,” Barker said. “People will have more than they had in the past.”

The Circle View & Stampede Estates Flood & Water Erosion Control Service Area in the Butte requested the planning department develop this plan to expand public awareness and erosion mitigation efforts throughout the corridor. The neighborhood group, which is a planning partner, contributes tax dollars toward the maintenance of erosion protection structures.

The $100,000 plan offers a variety of options that can be pursued to improve erosion management and protection. In high-risk areas, buyouts and structural protection, such as dikes, are listed alternatives.

But finding the funding is another issue, Barker said. Federal money once available for structural protection through USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service was earmark funds. And those, as Barker pointed out, are few and far between. The Army Corps of Engineers may provide some money to buy out at-risk homeowners. The Federal Emergency Management Agency may also provide funds for relocation.

Dikes and diversion bars need maintenance, and Barker said the state will likely need to pony up funds to keep roads that border the Matanuska River from being eroded away.

Another aspect of the plan is preserving the river and its habitat despite the human intervention. Barker said partners like Fish & Wildlife and the many agencies involved in any permitting processes will help monitor the health of the river.

When it comes to weighing the benefits of any plan pitting people against the river, that could become the focus of a proposed river management group, Barker said.

“It has to do with resources and community will,” she said.

Other members of the planning team included city of Palmer, homeowners associations, community councils, Alaska Fish & Game, U.S. Army Corps, NRCS, Alaska Dept. of Transportation and Chickaloon Traditional Village.

The final plan will be posted online next week on the borough website at matsugov.us.