Suicide Basin now expected to be full Aug. 8 — officials urge disposal of hazmat, other items now
- Mark Sabbatini
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
Disposal plans for waste and debris in place if another glacial flood occurs, but dropoffs now will greatly aid efforts, according to CBJ and DEC experts
This year the HESCO barriers are in place and, if they fail, a full-scale cleanup plan ready if a glacial lake outburst flood similar to last year’s occurs, officials say. But they say residents and businesses can make things easier for everyone if hazardous and other significant waste items are disposed of now rather than after a flood.
Suicide Basin is expected to be full by Aug. 8, four days after the ice dam broke last year, according to the National Weather Service Juneau’s most recent forecast Satuday at the basin’s official monitoring website. Last year’s release on the morning of Aug. 4 resulting the Mendenhal River reaching a record peak water level during the early morning hours of Aug. 6, damaging nearly 300 homes.
It was the second straight year of record releases that, in addition to damaging homes, also resulted in home heating oil tanks and other large hazardous items being swept away. That meant the water saturating homes and yards was toxic — so merely waiting for things to dry out wasn’t a complete solution — and posed further environmental threats from the contaminants as well as the objects themselves.
In addition to securing fuel tanks and other large items earlier, officials are urging people to check cabinet, garages and other spaces for household chemicals — and then either put them in waterproof containers in elevated locations or bring them to the city’s hazardous materials disposal facility in Lemon Creek.
"Immediately, please, next week bring it here if you can," said Stuart Ashton, operations manager for Recycleworks, a city disposal program for recyclables as well as hazardous materials. "If not, bag that up and put it high up. (And) if you're going to bring it to us anyway you might as well put it in a bag so it's easier to grab."
The hazardous materials disposal facility is open for residential materials from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays.
Ashton, during a tour with other officials of the recycling and hazardous disposal site on Monday, said 10 to 15 oil and propane tanks were swept away by floods each of the previous two years. The flood in 2024 rose higher and spread to a much wider area than 2023, catching people and officials by surprise.
As a result, "we are crazy ready this year," Ashton said. "We actually have an (emergency operations center) team. We have what you're supposed to have to control (the situation)."
Those plans include coordinated response, cleanup and dropoff plans involving other public agencies as well as private operators, plus a more comprehensive public information effort including the City and Borough of Juneau’s Glacial Flood Dashboard that provides online monitoring, maps, safety tips and other data.
"I think we're so prepared that hopefully that means we won't have launch," Dianna Robinson, an environmental protection specialist for the city’s Engineering and Public Works Department, said during Monday’s tour. "That's what I hope."
The water level in Suicide Basin as Saturday was about 1,263 feet, according to the monitoring website. That compares to 1,267 feet in 2024 and about 1,340 feet in 2023.
"Water levels have risen about 39 feet in the last week," the website notes. The elevation of the overflow channel at the top of the ice dam is 1371 feet, that would put the current levels roughly 108 feet below this spillway. If the rate of rise in the basin remains around 4 feet per/day, this would result in a full basin in 27 days, or around August 8th."
Upcoming flood preparation events include a community BBQ hosted by KTOO from 6-8 p.m. Thursday at Riverside Rotary Park at 3300 Riverside Drive, and free sandbag distributions on July 19 and 26 at the Dimond Park Field House.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
