January 2, 2009

County approves purchase of flood easement
Commissioners approve purchase at special meeting

By SAM CRAIG
of The Chronicle

     With the flood of 1996 still at least kind of fresh in the minds of many residents of The Dalles, early snowfall and heavy rains melting that snow can be cause for alarm.
     As manning the sandbags to try to save downtown homes and businesses is not at the top of anyone’s list, the Wasco County Court has approved the documentation for the purchase of two conservation easements that will hopefully prevent the consequences of the 1996 flood at a special session hearing Tuesday.
     The conservation easement will use two properties that run directly behind the homes on a portion of Wright St. that have been a source of concern for a while.      The properties have Mill Creek running directly through them, the overflow of which nearly obliterated homes from the Evergreen Nursing Home bridge to 23rd St.
     After the Division of State Lands, Nature Conservancy and FEMA all turned the county down for a grant, the Federal Timber Payments came through, allowing the county to purchase the easement. The first easement purchase was approved in 2004 but without the second, the county would have been liable for any water damage on the adjacent properties.
     In using the land, the county hopes to use the easements to divert water away from homes by using the natural flood plain the creek provides. In order to do so, however, the easement document stipulates no structures, or agricultural, commercial or industrial activity will be allowed in the protected property.
     Any purpose that might inhibit or impede the flow of water is also prohibited and protected against, though the court’s concern was more with keeping the creek clear for water flow, not necissarily keeping it as a nature preserve.
     “Our purpose is to allow water to run through there,” said County Judge, Dan Ericksen, “Not to keep it a pristene open space.”
     It’s been a long time coming and, according to Ericksen, it takes a weight off his shoulders.
     “It’s greate to get something off my desk I’ve been working on for 12 years,” Ericksen said.
     “Sometimes the wheels of government do turn slowly,” said County Commissioner Bill Lennox, “But they do turn.”
     The motion was passed unanimously, although, because of icy road conditions, County Commissioner Sherry Holliday was unable to make it in from Maupin.