Gov. Jay Inslee has halted the construction of the Chehalis River dam. | Facebook
Gov. Jay Inslee has halted the construction of the Chehalis River dam. | Facebook
Gov. Jay Inslee is holding back the intended construction of the Chehalis River dam.
Inslee told agencies that are planning a dam to hold back the biggest river in southwest Washington. Inslee halted the work until January of 2021. He told the two agencies to use the savings to plan for non-dam prospects in the state's effort to reduce flooding.
Flooding along the Chehalis River has been so bad that is shuts down Interstate 5.
Harry Pickernell Sr., who is the Chehalis Tribal chair, told KUOW the food that is supplied by the river is disappearing.
“Our salmon harvests are dwindling as it is,” Pickernell told KUOW. “So anything to maintain or improve our salmon harvest and our water quality in our basin is what the Chehalis Tribe is striving for.”
Pickernell told KUOW the Chehalis Basin Board is searching for more solutions to the flooding crisis.
"Is it restoration, is it buying land from owners, is it work on I-5? We don't know," Pickernell told KUOW. "That's our job now as the Chehalis Basin Board to find that solution that satisfies both farmers, the loggers and the salmon harvesters."
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