TOWARD 2000 - By The Chronicle, April 3, 1999
Momentum seems to have slowed on efforts to develop flood control plans for the Chehalis River, which is unfortunate.
Because gaining some measure of consistent control over floodwaters is perhaps the single most important key to Lewis County's future.
Think about it. Almost every aspect of what could be described as quality of life - a solid, growing economy, environmental concerns, growth of communities, a healthy real estate market, and so on - is heavily influenced by flooding issues.
It's difficult to attract new businesses and their related jobs, payrolls and tax support - and to retain existing ones - when the cores of many local communities are often inundated with floodwaters.
And when businesses do locate within flood plains, the resulting development displaces water-absorbing soil and replaces it with impervious surfaces such as asphalt. That results in a sort of double jeopardy - there is less soil to absorb water and more hard surface to increase runoff.
It's difficult to ensure property owners will receive fair value for their holdings when often those sites are damaged by flooding.
So it was dismaying to hear the news March 22 that work on an ongoing, $1.1 million Chehalis River flood-control study has slowed because of funding problems.
Money is the issue, or the lack of it. The five local governments sponsoring the project will each contribute $11,000 to continue lobbying for more money. Meanwhile, scientific work on flood-control options is on hold.
"We can only go with what money we got," project manager Richard Graham, county commission chairman, said March 22. "Then, we'll just have to sit back and see what the Legislature does."
To date, Lewis County has spent $355,400. The four other participating jurisdictions are the cities of Centralia and Chehalis, and Thurston and Grays Harbor counties.
The Legislature contributed $600,000 toward the project lastyear.
The county is lobbying the Legislature for 500,000 more in the short term and $2.5 million more for the next biennium.
Project consultant Pacific International Engineering of Edmonds has put together two promising alternatives. They involve riverbank excavation near Centralia's Mellen Street bridge, erecting a rubber weir atop the Skookumchuck Dam, and redirecting floodwaters under Highway 6 and onto farmers' fields west of Chehalis.
The state has also agreed to suspend review work of a technical group of state and federal environmental, flood-control and transportation agencies.
Meanwhile, the participating jurisdictions have only enough money to continue lobbying efforts to gain more financial support from government agencies. Graham expects Lewis County to pay for lobbying trips to Washington, D.C.
For some time now, it has been rumored the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has located $1 million to conduct a feasibility study based on PIE's work. But that has yet to be determined.
Officials hope the Corps of Engineers will serve as the project coordinator and provide the bulk of an estimated $80 million funding necessary.
We share that hope. We also urge state and federal lawmakers and agencies to give high priority to this issue, and to make money available for continuing studies. More importantly, they should provide funds for actual mitigation work.
And every citizen needs to take a hand in making sure decision makers understand the critical nature of flood control in Lewis County. We encourage business owners in affected areas to raise their voices loudly in letting public officials know how this affects their operations, and therefore the communities in which they are located.
This issue is vital for our area, and certainly warrants as much attention as traffic problems in the Seattle area or construction of a toll bridge in Pierce County.
Without some resolution sooner, rather than later - Lewis County will continue to struggle economically and socially.
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