Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Northbank Civil and Marine set to begin levee repairs in Waitsburg
A section of the Touchet River, near Willard Street in Waitsburg, that sustained significant damage during the February 2020 floods. After months of damage studies slowed by COVID-19, levee repairs began earlier this week.
WAITSBURG-The U.S Army Corps of Engineers' Walla Walla District has awarded a $1.5 million contract to Northbank Civil and Marine, Inc. for levee repairs along the Touchet River in Waitsburg.
Northbank Civil and Marine is a Vancouver, WA based company with a primary focus on marine, heavy civil, and industrial construction. Established in 2014, Northbank Civil and Marine has assembled a team that specializes in projects like dam and navigational locks rehabilitation, hydro-electric related projects, fish passage enhancement, and bridge construction. The company is licensed in five western states- Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, and Montana.
The Waitsburg Levee begins on the Touchet River's left bank upstream from the Preston Avenue (Highway 12) Bridge and extends throughout the city, ending near the waste treatment plant. The levee's upstream section was built by the Works Progress Administration and was rebuilt in 1951 by the USACE. The USACE also constructed the downstream portion in 1951.
In February 2020, a near-record flood event swept through Columbia County and the City of Waitsburg. Six sites, totaling approximately 2,585 feet in length, were identified by a post-flood inspection team as having significant erosion damage through the Waitsburg Levee.
City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe said that a significant amount of the damage occurred in the river section that runs along Willard Street. An estimated 12-15 feet of the bank was washed away by fast-moving floodwaters early this year below the property owned by Jim Wilson.
Planned repairs include reestablishing riverside slopes where erosion has taken place by grading slopes, placing erosion control features along the slopes, and installing slope support controls. A levee support structure extension will also be completed to help reinforce the upstream portion of the levee.
Current levee conditions only offer a 10-year level of flood protection. Once repairs are completed, the levee will provide a 100-year level of protection.
"This project is a result of the federal disaster declaration that coincides with flood levee rehabilitation funding," Hinchliffe said. "The USACE is the project lead with the City providing local match through material from our rock quarry up Whiskey Creek."
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