NOTN- Deputy Mayor Greg Smith joined KINY’s morning show on Thursday to recap Wednesday’s joint flood initiative meeting, discussing long-term solutions for flooding caused by the Mendenhall Glacier’s Suicide Basin.

In the short term, HESCO barriers remain the primary line of defense for vulnerable neighborhoods.

“We’re approaching historical release times” said Smith, “I mean, of course, everyone is crossing their fingers and just hoping for the best possible outcome.”

The Army Corps emphasized that a more permanent solution—such as a levee around Mendenhall Lake, is likely necessary. But planning and engineering such infrastructure takes time.

“they’re doing studies, but they need to know, you know, what is the risk from Suicide basin, in 5 years, what’s the risk in 50 years? There are more basins back up behind the glacier, and they need to know what those situations could be.” He said, “There’s a lot of factors that go into it. So for them to engineer a viable, long-term solution that will not fail, it does take time. We’ve heard them say it’s probably the top issue for the Army Corps in the state of Alaska.”

A federally funded technical study is underway, and officials hope that data from current modeling and previous floods will help shorten the usual multi-year timeline.

Still, even an expedited timeline might take seven years or more, but Smith says he’s optimistic about that timeline.

“The fact that we just got federal money to do this technical study is tremendous.” Said Smith.

With the Alaska Legislature back in town for the special session, Smith urged residents to take the opportunity to raise the issue with state lawmakers.

“I think some of the takeaways for people, is letting our congressional staff or congressional delegation know the importance.”