Ilwaco Integrated Stormwater Planning & Outreach Online Open House
The City of Ilwaco was awarded funding from Washington State Department of Commerce’s Salmon Recovery Through Local Planning grant program. With support from this grant, Ilwaco will protect and restore salmon habitat and water quality through the development of supportive land management regulations, guidance and enforcement strategies, outreach and education materials for children and adults, and some conceptual infrastructure project designs.
This Online Open House will provide you with user-friendly information about the project and ways to get involved and collaborate with us.
Grant Objective: Advance salmon recovery, climate impacts resilience, and encourage regenerative stormwater management in the City of Ilwaco through plan updates, green stormwater infrastructure and low-impact development incentives, community outreach and education, and site-specific project identification/development.
OVERVIEW
Storms often cause nuisance flooding in Ilwaco, and king tide events make it even worse. With rising seas and heavier rainfall expected in the future, these challenges will grow. To reduce local flooding and protect water quality, we need new approaches to managing stormwater.
This initial project concept was developed through a public workshop series (2023-24) focused on developing community-driven approaches to sea level rise resilience for human infrastructure (for example, culverts, roads and buildings) and habitats (for example, wetlands, streams and beaches) across Baker Bay.
This effort builds on the Bay-to-Bay workshop series (2023–24), where Ilwaco residents identified stormwater management as a top priority. Led by the Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership, Washington Sea Grant, and Pacific Conservation District, and funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s National Coastal Resilience Fund, these workshops convened community members, local and state agencies, environmental non-governmental organization (NGOs), and elected officials to identify community and ecological assets, risks, and nature-based project opportunities.
Phase 1 included development of a public participation plan, work plan and a technical memorandum consisting of existing conditions analysis, case studies, existing local projects, and recommendations for Green Stormwater Infrastructure opportunities. Phase 1 of the project concluded in June 2025.
Phase 2 has just begun! The process of advancing salmon recovery, climate impacts resilience, and encouraging a new way to address stormwater continues. Phase 2 will consist of plan updates, green stormwater infrastructure, low-impact development incentives, community outreach and education, and site-specific project identification/development.
WHY THIS PROJECT MATTERS
Ilwaco sits next to the Chinook and Wallacut tributaries of the Columbia River estuary, critical waterways for salmon. The regional salmon recovery plan highlights these tributaries and the pressures they face, emphasizing the need to reduce erosion, slow peak flows, and filter pollutants to help restore struggling salmon populations.
Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) - bioswales, weirs, and rain gardens - mimics pre-development wetlands by slowing runoff, settling sediment, and filtering pollutants (including oil residues, nutrients, bacteria, and tire-related contaminants linked to coho salmon deaths in urban streams). In addition to water-quality benefits, GSI reduces peak flows and local flooding by promoting infiltration of the water down into the soil. Native plantings create microhabitat, support pollinators, and add educational and aesthetic value.
Through last year’s Bay-to-Bay workshop series, Ilwaco residents consistently identified stormwater management as a top priority to reduce nuisance flooding today and prepare for higher tides in the future. Phase 1 concluded with conceptual plans and recommendations for Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI).
Phase 2 focuses on supporting salmon recovery using the community feedback from Phase 1 and will develop stormwater-related climate resilience strategies, guidance and site-specific project designs.
Conceptual Ilwaco GSI Figure from Baker Bay and Grays Bay: 2024 Sea Level Rise Resilience Strategy (Blalock et. al 2024)
This Phase 2 project will be conducted along with the update of the Comprehensive Plan and development regulations. To learn more about the Comprehensive Plan update, please visit:
https://ilwaco-wa.gov/2027-comprehensive-plan-periodic-update/
PHASE 2 OUTCOMES
- Updates to the City of Ilwaco’s Comprehensive Plan and Municipal Code to encourage salmon recovery efforts, stormwater management, and habitat protection/restoration.
- Development of engineered GSI/LID designs for one or two public projects identified through public engagement opportunities.
- Updates to the language in IMC Chapter 14 (Development Standards) to encourage or incentivize LID/GSI for certain development proposals.
- Development of grade-school, extracurricular, and/or adult educational programs to ensure multigenerational understandings of watershed/hydrologic processes, salmon recovery, and climate resilience
- Draft guidance, policies, and/or implementation of incentives in the Ilwaco Municipal Code and Ilwaco Comprehensive Plan to promote urban tree canopy retention.
- Coordination with Ilwaco Parks and Recreation Department and Public Works Department to develop a priority list of site-specific GSI interventions for public projects
- Development of a technical memorandum that includes a list of prioritized public projects and potential funding sources.
PHASE 2 TIMELINE (TENTATIVE)
To stay up to date on upcoming Planning Commission and City Council meetings, please visit our webpage here: https://ilwaco-wa.gov/meetings/
Public engagement opportunities, surveys and other events will be posted here!
GET INVOLVED
To sign up for project updates, please contact: [email protected].
