I am writing to raise awareness about a proposed flood control dam on the headwaters of the Chehalis River. As the Twin Harbors Waterkeeper, I work to protect water quality and habitat in the Chehalis watershed, Grays Harbor, and Willapa Bay. The Chehalis River is one of Washington’s most important salmon rivers. The tribes and the southern resident orcas depend on fish from the Chehalis River.

This proposed dam is projected to cost $628 million dollars, but will likely cost much more. It will help with some flooding issues in the area between Chehalis and Centralia, where ongoing building in the flood plain is part of the reason that “flood control” is needed. This dam will be devastating for the genetically unique salmon and steelhead that spawn above the proposed dam site.

In 1970, a massive dam was built on the upper Wynooche River, an important tributary of the Chehalis. We were promised that this dam would “improve river conditions” for salmon during water releases over the dam in times of low flow. Yet wild salmon in this river have significantly declined since the dam’s completion. The City of Aberdeen had to obtain a congressional moratorium on its share of the cost of the dam to avoid bankruptcy.

Our state is in a financial crises. Even more reason to demand a “plan B,” a plan that provides flood resiliency in an equitable way, and does not harm one of our great coastal rivers.

Lee First

Cosmopolis