Flood-prone Pacific could begin to see some relief soon.

King County Supervising Engineer Jeanne Stypula said Tuesday during a meeting in the Pacific Community Center Gym that work on the Lower White River Countyline Levee Setback Project should begin in June and finish in December 2017.

That project, which is budgeted at $18.2 million and is out for bid, will construct a new, 6,000-lineal-foot setback levee along the landward edge of a forested buffer to protect existing properties and structures. A 5,000-lineal-foot, bio-engineered bank revetment also will be built along the existing wetland edge for the same purposes.

Stypula said a forested riparian buffer of about 17 acres will be restored adjacent to the wetland, too. That work, along with removal of the approximately 4,100-lineal-foot current levee and bank armoring, will reconnect the river with 121 acres of off-channel aquatic habitat for the first time in almost a century and reduce flood elevations in Pacific.

Ken Brettmann, senior water manager for the Army Corps of Engineers’ Seattle District, said in February that those enhancements are significant because, “the White River is losing channel capacity at a rapid rate.” He said in-stream flow was 20,000 cubic feet per second in 1948 compared to about one-quarter of that rate now.

Stypula said when the project is finished it will provide “much less flood risk” to 200 homes in Pacific.

“We expect it to provide reliable flood protection for 50 to 75 years,” she said.

Stypula said major construction on the project will occur from July to October before work is halted during flood season. She said that in 2017 work will pick up again from April through October. During those time frames, she said, there will be some “banging noises” during the installation of wood piles. Stypula said locals also will notice more trucks in the area around Steward Road, and public access will be restricted in construction areas.

City Councilwoman Katie Garberding said, based on the original timelines released by King County officials, that the Lower White River Countyline Levee Setback already should be finished.

Stypula acknowledged that the project is behind schedule as previous timelines had it set to begin in 2014 and ’15, but added, “complex projects take time to construct.” She said the project became a priority after the White River spilled floodwaters over its banks in January 2009 and damaged more than 110 homes and 10 businesses, leaving $15 million in losses in its wake. One-fifth of the city’s 6,000 residents were displaced at the time.

The Lower White River Countyline Levee Setback Project is the first of two multi-million flood-relief strategies planned by King County officials. The Lower White River Right Bank Levee Setback Project is in the development stage, Stypula said. That project, which she estimated will cost $25-30 million, would remove interim flood protection measures, such as the HESCO wall, and construct a setback levee along the Pacific Park boundary and adjacent residential areas on the right bank. Stypula said that project would significantly reduce the potential for flooding in those areas.