Water Resources Division

Responsibilities

The Water Resources Division of Yakima County Public Services Department is responsible for the following activities:

• Flood Preparedness and Awareness: What to do before, during and after a flood, who to contact including Emergency Management Services, and Public Outreach activities. A flood emergency does not have to be declared before you can activate your flood insurance.
  

• Regulatory and Development Information: Floodplain and drainage regulations and permits required for development within urban Yakima County.
• Stormwater Management: National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Phase II Municipal Stormwater permit compliance for the urban county. Yakima County performs permit compliance tasks for the urban areas of Yakima County associated with permitted cities (Selah, Sunnyside, and Union Gap).
• Yakima Basin Water Resources Division Initiatives: Participation within and links to:
  • Basin Fish and Habitat Recovery
  • Lower Naches River Coordination Partnership
  • Water Storage Studies
  • United States Geological Studies (USGS) Ground Watershed Studies
  • Yakima County Groundwater Management Area (GWMA)
• Yakima County-Wide Flood Control Zone District: Flood hazard reduction plans, projects and studies along Yakima’s stream corridors:
  
  • Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Insurance Rate Map
  • Revised Preliminary Ahtanum Flood Map