The Lewis County Board of Commissioners at their weekly business meeting Tuesday, Feb. 11, passed a resolution renewing the county’s support “for a basinwide solution to flooding and aquatic species restoration” through the Chehalis Basin Strategy.
While the text of the resolution states support for a variety of studies and efforts, the body of the resolution focuses on evidence from the Army Corps of Engineers and the state Department of Ecology in support of building a flow-through dam, also referred to as a flood storage facility or water retention facility.
The structure would be located on the Chehalis River near Pe Ell and would only hold back water when flooding is in the forecast.
The Chehalis River Basin Flood Damage Reduction Project is the name of the local effort to build such a facility. It is proposed as part of the Chehalis Basin Strategy, directed by the Office of Chehalis Basin, and has received widespread support from local groups, including the Chehalis River Basin Flood Authority, the Office of Chehalis Basin, the Chehalis Basin Board and the Chehalis River Basin Flood Control Zone District.
Jurisdictions throughout the basin, including Montesano and Centralia, have recently voiced continued support for the project.
When activated, the proposed dam’s reservoir could hold approximately 62,000 acre-feet of water.
Efforts at flood reduction and fish habitat restoration have received funding since as early as 2010, according to the Chehalis River Basin Flood Control Zone District website, and the Chahalis Basin Strategy received $70 million in funding from the state as part of the 2021-2023 state budget. Supporters are seeking up to $80 million in the current legislative session to continue work on the project and aquatic species restoration efforts in the basin.
An updated plan for the dam was submitted to the state Department of Ecology in April 2024 and is now under review. The plan is expected to be open for public comment in the fall. Officials say they have addressed many of the concerns identified in state and federal environmental reviews through the redesign of the dam.
The text of the resolution approved by the county commissioners Tuesday also included support for Chehalis Basin Strategy efforts other than a “water retention facility,” such as the “Aberdeen-Hoquiam North Shore and West Segment of the North Shore levee, continued development of local flood and fish projects.”
The efforts are all aimed at preventing a flood similar to the 2007 event that devastated Lewis County.
The flood and its aftermath caused more than $900 million in damage to the river basin as almost 300,000 acre-feet of water went down the Chehalis River.
During the flood, Interstate 5 was shut down for nearly a week as water covered much of the roadway while more than 1,300 homes were destroyed.
