The city of Kirkland has received $300,000 in flood grant money from King County, which is expected to cover projects already underway in the Totem Lake Business District.

The projects will help properly channel rainwater from Totem Lake to west of Interstate 405, reducing the seasonal flooding on Totem Lake Boulevard and 120th Avenue Northeast, according to Frank Reinart in the Kirkland Public Works Department. At the moment, water that exits through a wetlands south of McDonald’s continues downstream to 116th Street, where a series of obstructions prevent it from flowing out of the culverts. In addition to channel clearing, city workers will also remove debris, allowing the water to flow.

Reinart said Totem Lake Boulevard and 124th Avenue also had flooding issues from 2006-2012, effectively shutting down the roads and disrupting business there, as well as restricting the primary route to Evergreen Hospital. The public works department first started on the project back in 2010, installing an emergency bypassing system that led water away from the neighborhood and downstream. While the flooding has settled, he said they need to replace old culvert systems.

In 2009, the city launched a revitalization effort directed at the Totem Lake Business District, a designated regional urban center. In response to complaints by business owners about flooding, which Reinart said was also warding off potential developers, the council adopted the Totem Lake Action Plan that included improvement to reduce the impacts of seasonal flooding.

“There was definitely a focus for these property owners coming to the city asking, ‘What can you do about the problem?’”

The city expects to have the work completed by September 2015.

The King County Flood Control District Board of Directors unanimously voted to approve the grant in September.

“I’m excited that the County flood control funds can be used to address the serious drainage problems in the Totem Lake area of my district,” King County Flood District Board Supervisor Jane Hague said in a press release statement. “This project will benefit property owners in the area and will significantly decrease flooding events once it is complete.”