Olympia to fix emergency road flooding in area locals nicknamed ‘Lake 28’
The Olympia City Council declared an emergency in order to address flooding on 28th Avenue on the city’s northwest side. Some residents in the area have said the problem has existed for a decade and have even named the low point in the roadway “Lake 28.”
The council approved the emergency declaration under the consent calendar during its Feb. 3 meeting.
According to the staff report for the Feb. 3 Olympia City Council meeting, 38th Avenue west of Cooper Point Road has experienced “periodic localized water over the roadway” for the last several years. The roadway turns into Aztec Drive and is the only way to access a neighborhood of about two dozen homes.
During a Nov. 18 City Council meeting, resident Jerry Inman said the water across the roadway has progressively gotten worse since the city connected the Aztec Court neighborhood to water.
Inman said at one point the water in “Lake 28” was well over 8 inches deep in the center. He said there are children who live in the neighborhood and either have to be driven to the end of the road for the bus, or they have to walk through several inches of water.
According to the staff report, Olympia received “a historic amount of rainfall” in December. As a result, 28th Avenue has been in a “continual stage of flooding which poses a risk to the public traveling through the area.”
“The depth of the water in late December was approximately 6 inches in some areas and the edges of the road and adjacent ditches could not be seen,” according to the staff report. “It is a safety hazard to expect residents, service and emergency vehicles, and other users of 28th Avenue to drive through standing water.”
The City Engineer determined that the flooding constituted an emergency, according to the staff report. City code defines an emergency as “unforeseen circumstances beyond the control of the municipality that either: Present a real, immediate threat to the proper performance of essential functions; or will likely result in material loss or damage to property, bodily injury, or loss of life if immediate action is not taken.”
The city then entered into a contract with Sound Pacific Construction, a Gig Harbor company, for flooding mitigation measures. The same city code for emergencies allows the city to enter into a contract without competitive bidding. The resolution on the Feb. 3 council agenda approved the emergency actions taken by the City Engineer.
According to the staff report, the recommendation was to clean the culvert that’s underneath 28th Avenue. Green Cove Creek branches off just to the north of the roadway, and the culvert appears to be “nearly entirely plugged,” according to the staff report.
“Cleaning the culvert should provide some improvement to the area and reduce the likelihood that 28th Avenue will be submerged during small to medium rainfall events,” according to the staff report.
The area will be monitored by staff and Sound Pacific Construction after the culvert is cleaned to see if more work needs to be done to address flooding.
The work by Sound Pacific Construction is about $40,000 and will come from Stormwater Utility funds, according to the staff report.
City spokesperson Carrie McCausland said on Feb. 5 that Sound Pacific Construction cleaned the adjacent culvert on Jan. 22 and Jan. 23, which she said has helped. However, water is still collecting in the area.
“City staff are now working with an engineering firm on additional interim improvements, though it will likely take some time before either an interim, or permanent, fix can be constructed,” McCausland said.
She said the city installed “water over roadway” signs in the area in September 2023 to help alert drivers.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated with additional details about the action the council took at the meeting and comments from a city spokesperson.
This story was originally published February 3, 2026 at 1:16 PM.
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