The Montesano City Council, a member of the Chehalis River Basin Flood Authority, passed a resolution at Tuesday evening’s regular City Council meeting pledging continued support for the “proposed flow through dam for flood control and the hope it offers families and communities across the Basin for reducing the peaks of future catastrophic flooding.”

The dam would be placed above Pe Ell on the mainstem of the Chehalis River.

According to the Chehalis River Basin Flood Control Zone District’s website, “The flow-through dam for flood control balances flood risk reduction with natural biological and physical riverine processes. This innovative structure is designed to reduce damage from major and catastrophic flooding.”

The Authority made an extensive presentation for the Montesano City Council that recapped its progress since its inception in 2008, including Montesano-specific projects such as protection for the wastewater treatment plant.

The Authority’s presentation stated, “Today, we are substantially more aware, better prepared for catastrophic flooding than ever before. We have a state-of-the art flood warning system. We’ve completed many cost-efficient local projects and habitat projects. We’re serving people, local governments, emergency responders, agriculture, fish and habitat alike. We have a governance, administrative, and funding structure that’s delivering results, and is committed to a balanced basin-wide flood and fish solution.”

According to Katrina Sukola, staff to the Flood Authority, the Authority is re-establishing touchpoints with its members as city councils throughout the region begin the new year, and in some cases, seat new elected members.

“The Chehalis Basin Flood Authority is visiting all the Flood Authority jurisdictions and re-introducing the Flood Authority to its council members, some of whom may be new to the council,” Sukola said via email.

The resolution states Montesano “is regularly and negatively impacted by Chehalis River Basin flooding, the largest source of which originates from the mainstem Chehalis River above Pe Ell.”

According to a 2015-2017 Authority hand out, “The five largest floods in the Chehalis Basin’s history have occurred during the past 30 years, causing massive damage to private property, livestock, farms, public buildings, roads, and bridges. Each of the recent floods closed I-5 for days. Climate change models from the University of Washington predict significant increases in peak flood levels over the next century, and a recent benefit-cost evaluation estimates that the costs of future floods will exceed $3.5 billion in the next 100 years if no action is taken.”

The Revised Code of Washington allowing for the creation of the Authority states, “The primary purpose of the office is to aggressively pursue implementation of an integrated strategy and administer funding for long-term flood damage reduction and aquatic species restoration in the Chehalis River basin.”

A revised Environmental Impact Statement for the project is scheduled to be released in the fall of 2025, and a final EIS is scheduled to be released in early 2026.

The Chehalis Basin Flood Authority consists of Montesano, Hoquiam, Aberdeen, Cosmopolis, Oakville, Grays Harbor County, Bucoda, Thurston County, Centralia, Chehalis, Napavine, Pe Ell and Lewis County.