King County workers are fixing Snoqualmie River levees at Si View and Reif Road in North Bend this summer.

The repairs were part of a $7 million multi-year project started last year to rehabilitate the five-mile South Fork levee system. The levee system protects commercial and residential areas of North Bend as well as roads and other public infrastructure.

The jobs are part of a busy flood-prevention construction season. The King County Flood Control District, in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and local governments, is starting work on 25 repair projects in flood-prone areas throughout the county.

In response to damages caused by last January’s flooding, the Flood District Board of Supervisors revisited the 2009 capital budget and the six-year capital improvement plan to prioritize damaged facilities. The Flood District and King County have completed emergency repairs at six sites, including two breached levees on the Tolt River that protect residential areas and four other levees where critical public infrastructure and residential areas were at imminent risk.

Workers have a narrow timeframe to complete their tasks. The construction season is limited by a “fish window.” The window varies by river, but is roughly between July 1 and Sept. 1, when in-water construction activities will not disturb the migration or spawning of federally-protected salmon species.