By Pepper Fisher
CLALLAM COUNTY – The effort to create an off-channel reservoir adjacent to the Dungeness River to offset the effects of climate change on local water supplies has moved a step closer to reality with the completion of a set of studies to determine the viability of a 400-acre parcel of land owned by the state Dept. of Natural Resources.
The land being proposed for the project is off of River Road near Sequim, and has so far passed scrutiny after studies of its seismic and geohazard risks, environmental assessments and an investigation into potential Tribal cultural resource conflicts on the property.
We asked Clallam County Hydrogeologist Carol Creasey, who has worked on the proposal for years, if she was excited about this property as the potential site of the reservoir.
“Yes, I am excited about this property. This is property…so far, there’s no wetland problems, no cultural resources problems, and the only real problem that exists appears to be this old Sequim dump, and that’s far from where the proposed reservoir site will be.”
Creasey is referring to the old Sequim dump on the south end of the parcel that was used from the 1930s through the 1950s. It’s mostly old cars and household debris, but the project includes a 300-acre public park with hiking, biking and river access activities, so it would have to be cleaned up.
A second assessment will be conducted to determine the presence and extent of soil contaminants. If there were to be significant costs for cleanup, that would affect the offer the County would make to buy the land.
The estimated cost for completion of the Dungeness Off-channel Reservoir is around $32 million. Clallam County and its Reservoir partners have secured about $8 million in Dept. of Ecology grants. The funds will pay for the acquisition of the land and have already funded the completed studies and other costs.
We asked Creasey what’s being done to secure the additional $24 million needed for construction of the reservoir.
“We just submitted a grant for a new program from FEMA and we’re requesting almost 10 million dollars for that. And that would be to…more of a phased approach. So we would start out with a smaller reservoir, and then as we got more funding we could expand the reservoir to the full capacity we need. The idea is to start receiving some of the benefits of the reservoir now, rather than waiting till we have the entire amount. But it all depends on funding.”
The environmental study on the old dump may take 6 months or so, which should coincide with an official appraisal of the property to determine the County’s offer. If all goes well, 2021 could be the year the County gets the land needed for a project that would preserve water during the wet months to be used downstream during the dry months of summer.