Flooding problem eludes easy solution

With fall and the start of the rainy season on the way, a solution to the flooding problems at Kandoll Road in western Wahkiakum County seems as elusive as ever.

Wahkiakum County commissioners hosted a second meeting of persons and agencies involved in the issue on Tuesday. The group agreed on a plan to evaluate erosion in Seal Slough, but they were unable to identify a solution to the Kandoll Road flooding.

Columbia Land Trust, a private, non-profit foundation, purchased the Kandoll Farm several years ago and has worked with Ducks Unlimited to breach dikes and restore tidal flow former farmland to create habitat for juvenile salmon. Part of the work included raising a portion of Kandoll Road in an effort to prevent tidal flooding of adjacent farms. The foundation also removed two tidegates at the head of Seal Slough and replaced them with large culverts.

Neighbors, including Raven Webb, have sustained severe flood damage since the work was done. They blame the work, saying the higher road has created a "bathtub" that prevents flood water from draining quickly as in the past. Representatives of the land trust and Ducks Unlimited admit the higher road may contribute to flooding, but they point out that floods in recent winters have been extremely high, and this has worsened the problem.

County commissioners this year have invited the land trust, Ducks Unlimited, the Grays River Habitat Enhancement District, and property owners to join in meetings to analyze problems and look for solutions.

On Tuesday, participants agreed that the higher level of Kandoll Road creates the bathtub effect, but they found no easy solution to the problem.

Enhancement district Commissioner Delvin Fredricksen commented that freshets from the Grays River overtop the road and become trapped behind the higher road. Webb said the water doesn't drain out the way it used to drain.

Ducks Unlimited engineer John Axford explained that the road was raised to head off flooding from high tides, and lowering the road will allow for increased tidal flooding of Webb's and other neighbors' land.

Russ Lawrence, consulting hydraulic engineer for the enhancement district, suggested raising Kandoll Road where it comes down to the valley floor from the highway out to a piece of high ground along the road and lowering the road further down in front of Webb's property. This would deflect the freshets from the Grays and allow flood water to drain quicker.

"That still leaves the Webb property vulnerable to tidal flooding," Axford said.

Webb commented that her house was able to survive the tidal flooding without severe effects in the past. With the current arrangement, however, flooding has been much more severe. "The water doesn't go in and out the way it used to," she said.

After more discussion, the group agreed to think about the possible solutions and reconvene the meeting at a later date.

In a related matter, the group agreed to study cross sections and aerial photos of the Seal Slough area to try to determine what's happening to dikes and shorelines there.

Residents say that since the land trust installed the two culverts, currents in the slough have increased and are now eroding dikes along two private properties.

Russell suggested that the obvious solution is to armor the toe of the shorelines with rock, trees or other techniques to ease the erosion.

Axford and the others said they wanted to evaluate the shorelines to see the potential extent of the problem.