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The Chehalis Basin Strategy: Reducing flood damage and restoring aquatic species

January 2022 Flooding: What We Know Now

As immediate emergency flood response has given way to longer-term recovery and data collection during this past month, we have begun to gain a more complete understanding of how this January’s flood events have affected various residents, communities, and projects across the Chehalis Basin.

Left: Flooded Rite-Aid parking lot in Grays Harbor County. Right: Fort Borst Park after flooding (credit: Jared Wezelburger, The Chronicle)

Damage reports from across Basin

In the weeks following the floods, local, state agency, and tribal government officials have been busy gathering data and assessing damages. The following preliminary damage estimates only reflect damages that were reported to each county as of the end of January 2022:

1. Lewis County

$3,996,744 in public damages (damages reported by cities and other taxing districts in Lewis County)
$1,613,774 in individual damages (reported by 141 residents and 10 businesses)

2. Thurston County

$2,640,000 damages total (public infrastructure and private)
$1,400,000 in private industry damages (reported by 100 residents and two businesses)

3. Grays Harbor County

$800,000+ in public damages (across 12 jurisdictions)
$3,127,145 in primary residence damages (structure loss and personal property loss)
$265,200 in business damages (structure loss and loss of furnishings, inventory, etc.)

Left: I-5 Chehalis at the SR 6 / Main St. Interchange. Right: Chehalis Tribe gas station and mini-mart (credit: Scatter Creek Aerials)

How Chehalis Basin Strategy projects performed during flooding

The Chehalis Basin Strategy is designed to operate on multiple scales—from small to large. Here’s some of what we know about flood protection projects already on the ground and the role they played in mitigating flood damage:

Flood Warning System: Nearly 35,000 individuals and households logged in and utilized the Chehalis River Basin Flood Warning System during the event to receive emergency updates, and the flood inundation maps available on that site received almost 75,000 hits.
Numerous farm pads were used to protect livestock and farming equipment. There was no notable livestock loss reported during this flood event, compared to widespread losses during the 2007 and 2009 floods.
The Raymer Street and Chehalis-Centralia Airport pump systems both performed successfully during the flood event. The Raymer Street Pump Station in Hoquiam pumped 51 million gallons of water out of the Raymer drainage basin, keeping the area safe and dry. The Chehalis-Centralia Airport system pumped 518 million gallons of water, protecting $45 million worth of public infrastructure and private assets while keeping more than 1,000 jobs from interruption.
Recently-installed protections around the Montesano Wastewater Treatment Plant worked well to safeguard the plant and prevent sewage spills. Before this project was implemented, the plant along the bank of the Wynoochee River was in serious jeopardy of being compromised. The bank was eroding at a rate of 17 feet per year, threatening to breach the plan and potentially send millions of gallons of raw sewage down the Wynoochee to the Chehalis River and Grays Harbor.
Floodproofing projects in Bucoda successfully protected homes from taking on water. These projects included flood vent installations and corrections in 11 homes, home foundation retrofits, and three home elevations.

For more information about the January 2022 flood event and its impacts, read the Office of Chehalis Basin’s Flood Response FAQ.

Read the FAQ

Flood stage vs. flow: What’s the difference?

You may have noticed what might seem like inconsistent information about the size of the January flooding in local media and reports. This is because there is more than one way to measure flooding, and our understanding of a flood can look a bit different depending on which method is used.

During the recent flood events, flood flows were as high as they’ve ever been recorded in some places, and much lower than record levels in other places. The same was true for flood stages. Here’s the difference:

Flows measure the rate of water that’s flowing through a specific area—a ratio of how much water there is and how quickly that water is moving. Flows are measured in cubic feet per second (cfs), and may also be referred to as discharge. Flows or discharge data are most useful to compare current flows to peak flows during other historic flood events.
Stages measure the height, or elevation, of flooding in a specific location, and are reported in feet. Stage or elevation data are most useful to monitor real-time flood developments.

Progress Toward a Local Actions Non-Dam Alternative

The Local Actions Non-Dam Alternative (LAND) effort continues to move forward, with two new project updates:

MIG has been hired as the third-party consultant team that will support the LAND Steering Group in creating their proposal.
Steve Malloch (Western Water Futures LLC) and Norm Chapman (City of Centralia Planning Commission) have joined co-chairs Todd Chaput (Economic Alliance of Lewis County) and Glen Connelly (Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation) as the official executive group leading the LAND effort.

Learn more about LAND and its Steering Group.

Save the Dates!

We hope you’ll join us for the following upcoming events:

Skookumchuck Dam Informational Webinar (March 9)
The future of the Skookumchuck Dam will affect flooding, fish, and water rights in the Skookumchuck River watershed. The Office of Chehalis Basin is early in the process of working with TransAlta (the owner/operator of the dam), local communities, and environmental restoration groups to find ways the dam could be improved.

Join us to learn more about the history of the Skookumchuck Dam, the options we’re looking into, and how you can make your voice heard. Register here.

2022 Chehalis Basin Aquatic Species Restoration Plan Symposium (April 20-21)
Join us to discuss ongoing research and community-based project implementation. The event will bring together restoration practitioners and community members to share ideas and develop solutions to build aquatic habitat resilience in the Chehalis Basin. Register here.

In the News

Recent news coverage and information relevant to the Chehalis Basin Strategy and its ongoing work and processes:

Centralia Gets Grant for Flood Supplies (Feb, 14, 2022)
January floods deluge Chehalis River basin (Feb. 9, 2022)
Farm Pads Prove Worth in Protecting Livestock in First Big Test Since 2007 Flood (Feb, 7, 2022)
Lewis County Sees $4.5 Million in Flood Damages (Feb. 7, 2022)
608,140 Gallons: Flooding Caused Sewer Overflows in Centralia, Though Environmental Impacts Are Likely Minimal, State Says (Feb. 2, 2022)
Once a Doubter, Adna Property Owner Turns to Conservation and Fish Advocacy (Jan. 28, 2022)
So Far 120 Homes, Structures Reporting Damage Totaling at Least $2 Million From January Flooding (Jan. 26, 2022)
Here’s how you can get your well water tested for free in Thurston County (Jan. 17, 2022)

The Chehalis Basin Strategy is overseen by the Office of the Chehalis Basin and Chehalis Basin Board, a diverse group of state agency, local, and tribal leaders committed to restoring aquatic species and protecting Basin communities from flood damage.