December 1, 2011 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
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Courtesy Photo
The Mason County Department of Emergency Management is
working with several state agencies to better predict floods in the
Skokomish Valley, such as the 2007 flood shown here.
Mason County works to improve
flood forecasting in Skok Valley
By NATALIE JOHNSON HWe simply have
It's no secret that the Skokomish River
Valley faces persistent flooding each fall Much |mi
too
water
and winter,
bad places What
While agencies such ms the U.S. Army •- *
Corps of Engineers, alomg with the Ma- we're trvi
to
son Conservation District, the Skokom- j- ng ~v
ish Tribe and other organizations, are re-
searching ways to stop flooding in the val-
iS find out what the
ley, Mason County and several other state elati.i "
and local agencies are working to better corr on
s .o.
predict flood levels before they strand resi-
dents in the Skokomish Valley. their predictions.
The Mason County Department of "We have new flood depth markers in
Emergency Management, along with the the valley- we physically drive out there,"
National Weather Service (NWS), the Best said. "We're establishing the depths
United States Geological Service (USGS) of water with what the gauge is reading.
and the Northwest River Forecast Center What we're trying to do is come up with a
(RFC) as well as the City of Tacoma, which way of being more accurate."
owns the Cushman Dam, met on Oct. 26 to The main problem decreasing the accu-
discuss ways to better predict Skokomish racy of predictions is that floodwaters flow
River levels during a flood, over the banks and levees of the Skokom-
"We simply have too much water in bad ish River in Potlatch and down river dur-
places," said Martin Best, Mason County's ing a flood event, making water depth not
emergency management director. "What necessarily the most accurate way to mea-
we're trying to do is find out what the cor- sure a flood in the valley, he said.
rolation is, what we're calling the sum of "The USGS says it cannot rate the
the forks ... and what it means to flooding gauge depths and flows because of the
in the main stem." overtopping of the levees," Best said.
Right now, the Skokomish River is Best said the volume, rather than depth
determined to be at flood level when the of water, measured in cubic feet per sec-
water depth at Potlatch reaches 16.5 feet. ond, in the Skokomish River best predicts
The county wants to understand how that a flood event.
depth corrolates to the depth of floodwa- The average volume of water flowing
ter through other parts of the valley, Best through the Skokomish River is 400 cubic
said. The county and other agencies in- feet per second. On Monday, the river's
volved want to compare water levels at flow was at 2,540 cubic feet per second. On
Potlatch with water levels at the north Friday, Nov. 23, the river was flowing at
and south forks of the river. 15,000 cubic feet per second.
"At 16.5 feet, based on physical observa- During the weekend, the flood level
tions, I know how much water is over the got to 17.2 feet at Potlatch and there was
roads in certain locations," he said. "When almost 4 feet of standing water on the
I see a forcast saying the river is going to Skokomish Valley Road, Best said.
be at 17 feet I can send out an advisory to For the time being, flood prediction will
residents." remain the same in Mason County, but
County workers physically mark flood- the county is moving toward a more effec-
waters to compare actual flood levels with tive prediction system, Best said.
Located on Hwy. 101 between Shelton & OI
Page A-8 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, December 1,201 t
Skokomish Park, formerly Lake Cushman State Park and
Cushman, will reopen in 2012 with improvements,
Skokomish Tribe.
Tribe celebrates new begin
with opening of Skokomish
By NATALIE JOHNSON
Skokomish Tribal Council
has much more than monet
The Skokomish Tribe plans to open "It's a piece that has a
the former Camp Cushman as Skokom-value, physical value and ]
ish Park at Lake Cushman, but the name to all of us," he said. "The
won't be the only change, is invaluable -~
In Spring 2012 the camp will open the meaning of what that
with renovations to campsites and a the tribe and the
natural auditorium, among other things, cestors were there for 10,00
said Jonathan Schmitt, the director of Specific alterations and
marketing for Skokomish Park. the park are still in the
The new park, managed by Skokom- Miller said.
ish Indian Tribal Enterprises, will also "The park itself and the
include historical markers and exhibits still things that are in
which will display the long history of the phase," he said. "We
land when it was an "ancestral home- determinations on how we
land" of the Skokomish people, he said. mold anything there for
"That is a part of the plan - to add or the tribe."
some descriptions of the significance Palmer took over a
of that area to the Skokomish tribe," new ranger for Skokomish
Schmitt said. already
In 2009 the Tacoma Power and the "I think it's a great
Skokomish Tribe signed a settlement a very positive thing for
agreement, which included $5.8 billion in Tribe," he said. "It's great
damages. The settlement included a one open to the public."
time $12.6 million payment, 7.25 of the After recent wind storm=
value of electricity produced at the Cush- he used downed trees to
man Dam and $23 million worth of land, and log barriers.
including the 520-acre Camp Cushman The park has 82 camp
property, ing 30 RV sites and 50 tent
Park Ranger Patrick Palmer said the park will operate much
resolution of the dispute has been a great park, he said. More
opportunity for the tribe to get the valu- camping can be found at
able land back, com, he said.
"There's been a dispute with Tacoma "It's a great
power for over 80 years over this property because this is a beloved
because this used to be ancestral tribal "I grew up in Mason
lands," he said. kid I always looked
Charles "Guy" Miller, Chairman of the here and playing
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