The Chehalis River Basin Flood Control Zone District still seems to be fixated on putting in a flood control retention dam on the upper Chehalis River, even after the governor requested they turn their attention to exploring other alternatives for flood control. Why? Everyone knows that the 2007 flood, the basis for building the dam, was an anomaly, a one-time event.
Maybe it is time the Chehalis River Basin Flood Control Zone District publicly answered some questions. Why is the location for the dam so far up the river from all the major tributaries to the Chehalis River? There is no way you can slow down the Chehalis River enough for it to accept the volume of water entering it from all its tributaries. Will the dam stop the flooding or will it just lessen the effects of flooding? Why haven’t you put as much time and energy in researching the possibility of using dikes and levees to stop the flooding.
I really don’t expect the Chehalis River Basin Flood Control Zone District to answer the above questions. To do so may be embarrassing to them as the answers may reveal all the time they have wasted on the retention dam. Not to mention the money that was wasted.
It is past time for the Chehalis River Basin Flood Control Zone District to back off from the retention dam proposal and concentrate on other more viable solutions that will actually stop the flooding.
Stevan W. Connors
Adna
