State of emergency declared for City of Waitsburg

WAITSBURG—At a special meeting of the City Council on Tuesday, Feb. 11, the Waitsburg City Council declared a state of emergency. This action is needed by funding agencies to release emergency assistance to help the City rebuild from the effects of the recent flood. The City of Walla Walla, as well as the County of Walla Walla have also declared states of emergency.

City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe said that he has been working on assessing the damage to the City since Saturday. He discussed the notable damage to the City's levees, with the Coppei levee east of the Preston Street bridge to the area near the Grange being impacted the most. Public works started sandbagging that area early Friday morning, and reinforced the dike at the Fairgrounds, with riprap and gravel repairs.

"The Coppei flood fight was successful."

Floodwater inundated homes and structures mainly along Preston Ave., past Harmon Street and E. 2nd, from the Highway 12 bridge to the east. The Preston Street bridge 'took quite a beating' and Hinchliffe said the Department of Transportation (DOT) has already been out to assess it. Hinchliffe said the DOT's scope of repairs is limited to paved surfaces of the road and the deck of the bridge.

Several areas near the treatment plant were close to failure. The public works crew has been hauling rock and riprap material to re-armor the dike in case the City experiences another highwater event, as the ACOE noted there are still two months of flood season left.

Hinchliffe has been in contact with the County Emergency Management, the County Commissioners, the State Representatives, and the Department of Ecology. The request for assistance from the ACOE has already been submitted.

City power was not compromised, and the City's wells are fine. The treatment plant was moved and raised after the 1996 flood, and it stayed running during the flood event.

Public Works was ready with a thousand sandbags at the Fairgrounds.

Hinchliffe noted that the City had no budget cushion going into the year, and cuts will need to be made to respond to flood control needs.

Assistance for individuals was discussed, with Commissioner Kuykendall crediting the work of Pastor Matt Wyatt, Joy Smith and Jillian Henze and the volunteers at the Waitsburg Christian Church for their excellent volunteer organization and help with food, clothing, care and necessities. Residents are encouraged to make use of the resources available, including the Waitsburg Emergency Updates page on Facebook which can connect people to resources available (a listing is available in this issue of The Times).