The view from the Staton residence on Meander Way shows the erosion caused by the Mendenhall River. The Statons are putting in a bank stabilization project after erosion has caused them to lose most of their backyard. They recently cut part of their deck off, seen in the lower right. (Alex McCarthy | Juneau Empire)

The view from the Staton residence on Meander Way shows the erosion caused by the Mendenhall River. The Statons are putting in a bank stabilization project after erosion has caused them to lose most of their backyard. They recently cut part of their deck off, seen in the lower right. (Alex McCarthy | Juneau Empire)

Neighbors taking action against Mendenhall River bank erosion

After federal plan falls through, riverbank residents open checkbooks

Some residents along a stretch of the Mendenhall River are taking the erosion on the river into their own hands.

Multiple neighbors who live on Meander Way in the Mendenhall Valley are working to shore up their riverbanks to save more of their property from falling into the river, neighbor Nico Bus said Thursday. Bus estimated that around eight homeowners are pursuing some kind of solution.

This has been an ongoing problem for years, as neighbors have watched the river claim more and more of their backyards. To stop this erosion, homeowners will have to pay to have contractors install netting and rocks to protect the riverbank. This kind of installation is usually referred to as rip rap.

Bus had rip rap installed on his property a few years ago, and said that as people’s yards are disappearing, they’re becoming more compelled to go through state permitting processes to stabilize their banks. The process involves having an open comment period where the public can weigh in and state officials can review the possible effects of installing rip rap.

“The mood is, we’ve got to get it done,” Bus said. “Whoever feels the urgency is trying to go through the loops. The big question is, what will the estimate be from the contractor to do the work?”

Bus said that when he installed his rip rap, it cost about $25,000. For others, it might cost more.

Norm Staton, whose property has seen the worst effects, is one of the neighbors planning on installing. He’s hoping to get a project started in February along with his neighbor, and said he estimates he’ll have to pay between $40,000 and $50,000. He has been adamant that all of the neighbors should be shoring up their riverbanks as a group effort instead of them all doing it individually at different times.

“I was just hoping that I didn’t have to do this,” Staton said Thursday in reference to having to do a project of his own. “I don’t believe (doing it property by property) is the long-term solution.”

The erosion has sped up in recent years in large part due to glacial flooding known as the jökulhlaup. These floods began in Juneau in 2011, as a large depression in the Mendenhall Glacier known as Suicide Basin filled with rain and meltwater and released the water into Mendenhall Lake and Mendenhall River. It’s happened every year since then, sometimes coming multiple times in a year.

[Authorities, residents brace for annual flooding]

Staton has watched those floods tear his riverbank apart in recent years. He said he was hoping for “the cavalry to arrive,” and thought that help was coming last year.

Throughout 2017 and in the first half of 2018, city officials were working with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to combine federal and city funds with money from the homeowners on Meander Way to commission a project that would have secured the shoreline of 26 homes on the road.

That plan never came to fruition, in part because the neighbors were unhappy with the city making a choice for them and forcing them to pay tens of thousands of dollars. The project was never finalized, but an early plan would have meant each of the 26 households on the stretch of road — regardless of whether they were losing their yards — would have to chip in about $78,000. The scariest part of that proposal for some was that the $78,000 figure was only an estimate, and the project could cost more than originally planned.

In an early survey, 20 of 25 homeowners who responded to a city survey in April 2017 agreed to go through with the plan and pay the $78,000. Members of the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly wanted to get more buy-in from the homeowners and kept working to get more unanimous agreement.

They were never able to get unanimous agreement among the neighbors or among the Assembly members. The Assembly members finally voted down a plan at their May 14 meeting, by a 6-3 margin. By then, the plan a $5.1 million price tag, including about $3 million from the city and an $80,000 commitment from the residents.

Assembly members Mary Becker, Loren Jones and Jesse Kiehl voted in favor of the project.

“We can’t have a great city if we just allow the river to eat away at (it),” Kiehl said at the meeting.

Kiehl said via text message Thursday that he has been following the neighborhood emails and hopes the neighbors can reach some kind of agreement and work together to solve the problem. City Manager Rorie Watt said via text Friday that the federal program proved “too cumbersome and had too many strings,” and he’s glad the neighbors are taking action.

Staton said he was disappointed. He’s still convinced that the best way to deal with the erosion is to shore up the entire stretch along Meander Way instead of having each portion done differently at different times.

“They didn’t take the lead,” Staton said of the Assembly members. “They left it up to us to take the lead, and that just caused a problem.”

Bus said most neighbors weren’t heartbroken when the plan was voted down in May.

“It’s different reactions because the city and federal government project was to a very high standard, which was making it expensive,” Bus said. “Now, people do it on their own, the feeling is that most people could do it for less than what the city and federal government would charge.”


• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at 523-2271 or amccarthy@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @akmccarthy.


Norman Staton talks Thursday, July 13, 2017, about how the Mendenhall River is eroding his Meander Way property. Stanton is trying convince the city and his neighbors to pay to fortify the embankment. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

Norman Staton talks Thursday, July 13, 2017, about how the Mendenhall River is eroding his Meander Way property. Stanton is trying convince the city and his neighbors to pay to fortify the embankment. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

More in News

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Aurora forecast through the week of Nov. 10

These forecasts are courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute… Continue reading

Students arrive at Thunder Mountain Middle School on the first day of school Thursday, Aug. 15. The school now houses all students in grades 7-8, who were in two middle schools last year, and the students at Thunder Mountain last year when it was a high school have been consolidated into Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire file photo)
Report: 11 high school fights during first quarter of school year, up from 3 each of past two years

Consolidation seen as possible factor; middle school incidents more typical compared to recent years

People gather outside Resurrection Lutheran Church as it hosts its weekly food pantry on Tuesday afternoon. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Resurrection Lutheran Church leadership dispute intensifies with accusations of assault, theft, sabotage

Pastor removed, lawsuit lingers as competing groups try to continue worship services, food pantry.

Nick Begich, center, the Republican candidate for Alaska’s lone U.S. House seat, talks with supporters during a meet-and-greet Oct. 12 at the Southeast Alaska Real Estate office near the Nugget Mall. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Updated vote counts show Begich, repeal of ranked choice voting likely to prevail

Most ballots uncounted on Election Day have now been tallied, with final results due Nov. 20.

Letters of support are posted to the window of the Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, following a shooting incident on Monday, Nov. 11 at 5:45 a.m. in Homer. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Man arrested for three shooting incidents at reproductive clinic, recovery organization in Homer

Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic was targeted twice Monday, suspect cites “religious beliefs.”

A sign welcomes visitors to Hoonah on Aug. 7, 2021 just outside the Icy Strait cruise ship port. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
State commission approves new Xunaa Borough government in northern Southeast Alaska

Area would include Hoonah and much of Glacier Bay National Park, exclude three nearby small towns.

Juneau Assembly Member Ella Adkison (center) helps state Sen. Jesse Kiehl load donated groceries into a van on Saturday during a food drive at Super Bear IGA Supermarket hosted by the Juneau Central Labor Council. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Nonprofits say need is high as collections for annual Thanksgiving events approach

Food bank, other agencies say number of people seeking help is rising due to cost, other factors.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Saturday, Nov. 10, 2024

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy poses with then-President Donald Trump during a refueling stop by Air Force One at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in February of 2019. (Official White House photo)
Update: Dunleavy and Dahlstrom plan, cancel live Tuesday night announcement as Trump post for governor rumored

Dunleavy being considered for Interior secretary; also backs Trump on eliminating Dept. of Education

Most Read