Letter to the Editor: Maybe There’s a Good Reason No Dam Has Been Built Like That Proposed in Pe Ell

In the past few weeks, there has been a lot of print concerning the water retention facility (aka the dam) on the upper Chehalis River in the vicinity of Pe Ell. All the local governmental agencies, The Chronicle, the Chehalis River Basin Authority and a few other people are in favor of the dam. This is very perplexing to me. 

The flood of 2007, which is the basis for the proposed dam, was a one-time thing; an anomaly. Unless a hillside is going to slide off and block the Chehalis River for a period of time there will never be another flood such as that of 2007. 

It has been said that a dam such as the proposed retention facility has never been built before. Maybe there’s a good reason why it hasn’t. 

If said structure will not stop the flooding, but just limit the amount of damage, why spend all this time, money and effort on something that will not fix the flooding problem? I am sure there are other options that will fix the problem, such as maybe levees or dikes?

As for the claim that climate change has something to do with this problem, I really don’t think so. There has been no evidence of this claim. 

Stevan Connors

Adna