Wednesday, May 05, 2004.
It would seem logical that any comprehensive, coordinated and effective flood control plan for the Chehalis River in the Twin Cities area would include circumventing a major bottleneck in the river.
But while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has what appears to be an effective Twin Cities flood control plan with improved and expanded levees and flood control alterations to the Skookumchuck Dam, its plan does not include alleviating the choke point near the Mellen Street Bridge in Centralia. That appears to be a major shortcoming.
In hopes of convincing the Corps to include in its plan diverting Chehalis flood waters around the choke point, the Centralia, Chehalis and county governments have agreed to share in the $84,000 cost of a study by Pacific International Engineering. The purpose of the study is to demonstrate that such a diversion would not only greatly ease flooding especially in Centralia but also could have a major environmental benefit.
The choke point is particularly a problem because it is near where the Skookumchuck River flows into the Chehalis across from Fort Borst Park. The bottleneck combined with the confluence of Skookumchuck and Chehalis floodwaters has created a major backup of floodwaters that have inundated parts of Centralia.
The question is, in looking at protecting the Twin Cities from flooding, why build more levees and flood control at the dam, but not at the same time deal with the bottleneck? A major reason appears to be because of what some would regard as excessive environmental regulation of any work in our rivers.
Such work has become so sensitive the environmental aspect of a project needs to be promoted as the primary goal, said Centralia City Councilor Ted Shannon, member of a county flood control panel.
Accordingly, the project that is the focus of the study would create off-channel rearing habitat for juvenile fish. "You might as well start from the beginning with an environmental project that also helps flooding," Shannon said.
The bottom line, what is most important, is that such a project "could be a win-win situation for the environment and for (preventing) 100- or 500-year floods," Shannon observed.
If people have to play games and be circumspect to get some much-needed flood control to protect public and private property from untold damage and protect people's lives and safety, which should be the primary objective, so be it. Enhancing the environment as a condition may well be justified, but people need to realize it can add huge amounts of money to the cost of a project and even result in it not taking place.
And even if the study should show the diversion project is needed, feasible and includes environmental enhancement or mitigation, there is no guarantee the Corps will ultimately accept it as part of the overall flood control project in the Twin Cities.
Meantime, our local governments deserve credit for trying to have the most comprehensive, effective and sensible flood control project possible for the citizens they serve.
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