Floods, and Business As UsualOur Water, Our World By Paul Pickett
On December 1, 2007 a strong "Pineapple Express" frontal system brought intense rain to Southwest Washington. Olympia saw two consecutive days of rain that totaled over five inches (more in some areas), breaking records each day. Gauges in Kitsap and Mason Counties saw rainfall over 10 inches. Intense rain fell particularly on the upper Chehalis River watershed, west of the city of Chehalis, producing floods that broke all previous records. Miles of Interstate-5 were under water, as well as most of the valley floors in the basin. Thousands of livestock drowned, and thousands of homes were inundated. The flood hit home for me because I've worked closely on environmental issues in the basin for the last 15 years. Bridges that I collected samples from were washed out as the river I've navigated expanded to fill the flood plain. Photos posted on the Internet vividly show the power of massive amounts of water to take control of the landscape. Like many disasters, it's easy to declare it an "Act of God" and look to old-fashioned remedies to protect the community. Within days stories filled the newspapers with calls for new levies, reservoirs, and dredging projects. But viewed from an environmental perspective, one can see how Business As Usual practices added to the severity of the disaster. On the global scale, our petroleum economy is Business As Usual. And although scientists won't blame any particular storm on global warming, many scientists concur that the type of storm that hit the Chehalis River basin may be typical of what we can expect from climate change. After all, warmer air temperatures cause warmer ocean temperatures and more evaporation, leading to wetter, more intense storms. And since climate change isn't going to get turned around any time soon, we should start planning for bigger rainstorms and floods. On the watershed level, the Chehalis basin has been impacted by many Business As Usual practices that could add to flooding problems. For several years I studied the watershed and reviewed restoration proposals, and many of the problems are obvious. The watershed has seen heavy timber harvest, mostly by clear-cutting, which is a formula for rapid rainfall runoff. Erosion from roads and timber harvest has filled the riverbed with sediment, raising the riverbed and reducing channel capacity. Wetlands have been filled that might otherwise absorb flood flows. Flood plains have seen widespread development — anyone driving down I-5 can see the growth of businesses along the river. Combine record rainfall with a loss of flood-plain function, and you have a recipe for disaster. It's a sad and tragic irony that Lewis County has elected for so many years conservative political leaders who fight against government regulation and environmental safeguards. Now the citizens living in the flood zone have to pay the price of Business As Usual. The disaster of the December flood should be an opportunity to take a fresh look at land use planning and sustainable economic development, so that Lewis County can better live with the realities of storms and river flooding. A master plan is needed for the basin to look at where people live and how the basin is used. Clear-cut timber harvest should be replaced by sustainable selective harvest. Roads should be built to prevent erosion and a program funded to rebuild or retire old eroding roads. A thorough analysis of the river's flood plains could identify where flood storage is needed, resulting in wetland restoration and limitation on flood plain development. Landowners in high-risk zones should be bought out and the land put into flood storage reserves. Zoning for development needs to be rethought to direct businesses and homes into higher-elevation areas. And planning for the long-term protection of the north-south interstate corridor should be integrated with regional planning. After the flood of 1996 people called for changes to prevent future disaster. But Business As Usual led to political gridlock. Now 11 years later flooding has returned worse than before. It's time for Business As Usual to be replaced by a new kind of intelligent, holistic, sustainable planning so we can stop the steadily increasing spiral of flood damage. Paul Pickett is an environmental engineer, Public Utility District Commissioner, and occasional columnist for Green Pages. ---- Ways to Help FarmersThe floods caused tremendous hardship to many of our local farmers who provide the sustainable, local, organic food system we enjoy in South Sound. Please give as generously of time and money as you are able. Here are some resources for more information: http://www.olyblog.net/local-farmers-need-help and http://olympiafarmersmarket.com Also, the Olympia Food Co-op has established a farm-relief fund. You can give a cash donation or simply “round up” when paying for your groceries at either branch. Every cent helps!
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