Flood Authority Moves Ahead With Process to Bring Hoquiam Into the Fold

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Members of the Chehalis River Basin Flood Authority will consider allowing the city of Hoquiam into the organization, which identifies and coordinates flood mitigation efforts in the basin. 

When the Flood Authority was formed following severe 2007 flooding in Lewis County, the city didn’t realize the organization had the goal of tackling flooding in the whole basin, said Brian Shay, city administrator for Hoquiam.

Within the last few months, he said, the city learned it is eligible to receive funding for flood mitigation projects due to flooding the city experiences near the mouth of the Chehalis River. 

“We wanted to be an active participant to improve flooding in the Chehalis basin as a whole,” Shay said. 

In order for the city to join, municipalities and counties across Lewis, Thurston and Grays Harbor counties must sign off on an amendment to an interlocal agreement, said Flood Authority staff Scott Beottcher. 

Once the various municipalities approve the amendment, it will be forwarded to the Lewis County commissioners, representatives of the lead agency on the Flood Authority, and it will become binding if they sign it. 

Beottcher said they hope to incorporate Hoquiam by the end of March. 

“I’m trusting that folks are now working with their respective jurisdictions to get that signed,” he said. 

Lewis County Commissioner Edna Fund is also the vice chairwoman for the Flood Authority. She said other municipalities, such as Napavine and Bucoda, have been added since the inception of the organization. 

She also hopes the interlocal agreement to include Hoquiam will be presented to the county commissioners within a month. 

“I welcome them in. Lewis County believes they should be a partner at the table,” Fund said. 



Hoquiam officially expressed interest in joining during a January meeting of the Flood Authority in Bucoda, where no major opposition was voiced. 

Fund said city representatives had been engaging with the Flood Authority at the meetings instead of simply taking on an observer role. 

Beottcher said the last time the Flood Authority agreement was amended was in 2011.

Shay said he’s optimistic about the city’s chances of joining the organization. The city has been partnering with Aberdeen on a levee project to reinforce the banks of the river from the mouth of the Chehalis River to the mouth of the Hoquiam River. 

The area has seen flooding impacts from the Chehalis River in the past. 

“Being a member of the Flood Authority makes a lot of sense because we certainly have our share of problems,” Shay said. 

Many Southwest Washington communities also experience similar problems, ranging from flooding to general economic depression, and Shay said this is another way to strengthen ties between local communities. 

“I think that the work that the Chehalis Basin Flood Authority has done, and is doing, to address flooding and improve the economy at the same time of the region is very important, and Hoquiam welcomes the opportunity to be a part of that,” Shay said. 

The interlocal agreement will be presented to the Hoquiam City Council on Monday.