Multnomah County Drainage Districts Issue Assessment

In March, 2013, the Executive Director and select staff from the Multnomah County Drainage District (MCDD) approached the Hatfield School of Government’s Center for Public Service (CPS) and Oregon Solutions (OS) seeking assistance in addressing the issues of maintaining accreditation and recertifying the levees under their jurisdiction. Of immediate concern is US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)’s certification1 of levees in Peninsula Drainage Districts #1 and #2, which expire in August 2013. The loss of this certification risks loss of levee accreditation under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Less immediate, but no less important, is a similar recertification requirement for levees in Multnomah County Drainage District #1 (MCDD#1) and the Sandy Drainage Improvement Company, the current evaluation findings of which reach the end of their maximum period of validity in June 2017.