Adding sand to Pancake Point not the solution

To The Eagle:

Save the Watson house? The Watson house was originally on a dock on pilings in the Columbia River. The owners of the house were told when they had it moved onto dry land that they did not move it far enough from the river. They wanted it near the river for 'the best view.' As a result, that house is now being threatened by the river. Adding sand to the Pancake Point area is not a solution to the problem. It will wash away--and the spoil will threaten the ferry landing. More dredging will then be necessary. The logical action would be to move the house to where it should have been moved before. The local current is quite strong. In order to keep Pancake Point from eroding further, it might be possible to repair the existing pile dike for a few hundred thousand dollars. Then again, that might not help at all. To try to protect their 'view' at a cost to each of their neighbors of about $1000 per year is not fair. The proposed $40,000 cost just for a plan to save the house is wasted money. The money would be better spent to move the house farther inland as should have been done in the first place. When the demand to deepen the channel to from 43 to 50 feet is made, even more of Puget Island beachfront will disappear. Putting sand on the beach and dredging it out of the ship channel where it slides back to the bottom of the river seems never ending. It is not the neighbor's problem. It is the problem of the current owners who want a view. Let them move the house or allow it to be swallowed up by the river.

Richard Carlsen

Puget Island