Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Erosion quickly ate away at land supporting a barn and garage
Les and Laurie Richardson, of Waitsburg, suffered great losses as rushing waters overflowed the banks of the Touchet River and quickly eroded the ground near their home. A barn was lost on Saturday and this garage, in spite of attempts at diverting water, was lost on Sunday night. The Richardsons were able to save their home.
WAITSBURG-While most of Waitsburg is heaving a collective sigh of relief at having been bypassed by the heavy flooding that hit several not-so-far-away communities, not everyone was so lucky. Les and Laurie Richardson are still reeling from the devastation that hit their property last week.
Record water flows in the Touchet River and sustained rains over the last two weeks pushed the river over its banks, and on a direct path to the Richardson's home near the junction of Hogeye Road and Highway 12. A barn was enveloped by the river on Sat., April 13 and, in spite of attempts to redirect water, the garage fell in at about 10 p.m. on Sunday evening. The house, however, has been saved.
Richardson said calls to FEMA, Walla Walla County EMS, the Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Walla Walla Conservation District all resulted in the same answer. There is zero financial aid available to safeguard the family's home.
Initially, the Richardsons were told that, because FEMA has classified the situation as erosion, and not a flood, their flood insurance would not kick in. They have since learned that flood insurance does apply to erosion from high water.
"Calls to our bank have offered only a small percent of funds needed against the land value. Because the home is in jeopardy, it is not able to be used as collateral," Les said on the family's Touchet River Flood Recovery page on gofundme.com.
Google Earth photos from 2016 show the river a good distance from the house. Now, it is literally in their backyard.
"We need to redirect flows and restore the habitat to return this run of the Touchet back away from our home. Immediate solutions will just stop the erosion of soil, hopefully before it reaches our home," Les said.
Shoring up the bank requires heavy earth-moving equipment and many tons of rock. Heavy equipment operators, rip rap rock delivery, heavy side dump trucks, excavators and bulldozers are all welcomed, he said, on his page.
In an update to their gofundme.com page, Les said that they had spent close to $10,000 on rock and equipment to save the house. He said 17 end loads of rock had been donated.
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