We are very happy to be able to fund the critical projects in Walla Walla and Columbia Counties and the city of Waitsburg. With a very large snow pack of 175 percent of normal in the Blue Mountains, we along with other federal, state and local governments need to get these repairs completed to ensure people, homes and valuable roads and structures are protected in case there is flooding this spring. The 1996 flood ranks as one of the worst natural disasters in Washington state history, in terms of widespread damage and costs. The New Year's Day 1997 flooding caused further damage. Repairing the levees should protect about 25 homes and roads and highways in the area from floods.
Work is underway on a couple of the projects right now.
The bioengineering project means instead of repairing the failed levees with just large rock, workers will use large and small rock, an overlay of a fabric material with natural and manmade products and plant trees and shrubs to rebuild and protect the levee. Much of the type of levee repair work that is or will soon be underway in Walla Walla and Columbia Counties has been used throughout the nation for the past ten years. Bioengineered projects are often less costly and are better for the environment, providing shading for fish and habitat. Ecology administers the Flood Control Assistance Account Program that is helping to fund these projects. In June 1996, Ecology awarded most of the money from that fund.