Posted 11/30/06

Water Committee Volunteers

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

This November has been one of the wettest months in recent history for Western Washington.  Fortunately, it has eliminated the recent threat from the forest fire on the south east side of our mountain.  It has also replenished water that is needed in the aquifer that is our source of drinking water in the community.  But as many of you are aware, it has caused some serious erosion damage to our community.  Last week several lots and homes were flooded with silt and debris from streams that overran their banks and from water volumes that could not be handled by the existing ditches and culverts.  Although the tremendous amount of rain that fell in the short period is rare and unexpected, it is the second time that a November storm has threatened our community and caused substantial erosion and potential damage to roads and homes.  It is reasonable to assume that this is not the last time this will happen.

The community owns and is responsible for all of the roads in the community with the exception of Via Kachess.  The county has been notified of the need for work to clear ditches and culverts along this road in order to resolve a portion of the problem.  But the community has its own problems with the ditches and culverts that are our first line of defense against storm waters. They can be generalized into the following categories:

1.    Lot clearing and building in the community has increased the volume of run-off water that the system must now handle.

2.    Ditches and culverts have not been maintained as well as they possibly should be by lot owners.

3.    Some of the existing culverts are undersized to handle the maximum rate of water flow.

This is a problem that needs to be addressed immediately.  The solutions to this problem could also become very costly, so the sooner we act, the better our ability to resolve the problem in a way that is most effective and at a reasonable cost to the community.  It is important that we capture the knowledge that can be gained by assessing the areas that have been the greatest problem. 

I have asked Hugh Munro, chair of the Roads and Culverts committee to convene a special committee to address the issue.  The committee�s directive is:

1.    Assess the damage that has been done in the latest storm and in previous storms, identifying the damage and the root cause at each location.

2.    Develop a prioritized plan for resolving the problem at each location, with an eye to handling a similar storm.

3.    Determine the approximate cost of resolving the problem at each location.

4.    Report these findings to the board as soon as possible.

It is unknown what the cost will be to resolve these issues with the drainage system, but it is very important that we act now to develop a plan that the whole community can review.  There are some moneys in the reserve maintenance fund that can be directed toward this effort, but they likely are not enough.  It is also likely that the committee will find problems that are the responsibility of individual lot owners or the county.

We are urgently looking for community members with knowledge of construction and water drainage issues, and even those individuals that are anxious to help in resolving this problem. If you can contribute to this effort and would like to work on this committee, please contact Hugh Munro at (206)283-5465 or Mo Hanan at 800-688-0692 or Marisa Angrisano at (425)482-0936.  Time is of the essence.  Please get involved if you can help.        

Thank You for your support.

Steve Hegge, President

Kachess Community Association