Our Views: Basin Ready for History to Be Made on Flooding

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State Rep. Richard DeBolt’s bold request for $1.5 billion to deal a fierce financial blow to chronic flooding in the Chehalis River Basin and beyond received its first committee hearing Tuesday.

The veteran Chehalis legislator told members of the House Capital Budget Committee that the money would be more than a temporary solution for the pervasive and destructive problem of flooding in Lewis County and downstream.

It would mark a historic turn in events, he said.

“We’ve been reactive too many years. This seems to be a way to be proactive,” he said, later adding, “We have a chance with this bill to change history.” 

As all of those who have lived in Lewis County for any substantial amount of time knows, DeBolt is unquestionably correct when it comes to his assessment of the reactive nature of past flood fixes.

Only in the days and months following devastating floods has the political willpower been mustered to confront the issue in serious ways.

In the past, those tardy efforts have collided with the special interests of bickering subsets of the basin’s population. Projects have been proposed and discarded with relative regularity over the years, even as millions of dollars have been wasted by studies and infighting.

As we’ve noted repeatedly, that is no longer the case.

Tuesday’s hearing featured varied geographic and cultural interests from throughout the basin. In years past, it would have been unprecedented to see the chairman of the Chehalis Tribe, a Lewis County commissioner and a Grays Harbor County politician marching to the same tune.

Yet, that has been the case for more than a year. 

Tribe Chairman David Burnett, Commissioner Edna Fund and Cosmopolis Mayor Vickie Raines were just a few of the vocal proponents of the $1.5 billion allocation at Tuesday’s hearing.



All three of them have seen the unmitigated destruction brought on along the Chehalis River by winter rains.

While they might not all agree completely on how to fix the problem, they have shown unequivocally that they can work together to determine what the best solution will be.

For some, that solution is a water retention facility to be built on the Chehalis River above Pe Ell. Others involved in the process have voiced opposition to the plan, but none have inserted themselves as roadblocks to determining whether or not it represents the best possible outcome.

The Chehalis Work Group, which was appointed by the governor, will announce in November if it will recommend the water retention facility.

In the meantime, money is needed. DeBolt’s bill fills that need and those of others throughout the state.

His legislation would grant $300 million to the Chehalis River Basin. Overall, the bill would allocate $700 million to flood reduction projects throughout the state and $500 million to storm water reduction projects.

In years past, the request for such a large amount of money would raise red flags for engaged residents. But in the current environment of shared purpose and renewed enthusiasm for finding a solution, it should give residents a sense of hope.

Lewis County is ready for history to be made when it comes to flood mitigation.