Local Actions Non-Dam alternative

Reducing flood-related damage in the Chehalis Basin is urgent and requires serious consideration to conserve the Basin’s rich ecosystem.

As the Board works to develop the long-term Chehalis Basin Strategy, members are also evaluating the Local Actions Non-Dam (LAND) alternative proposal. The LAND approach would reduce flood-related damage to residents, properties and aquatic ecosystems in the upper Basin through a system of levees, floodwalls and drainage improvements in and around Centralia and Chehalis. The Board is assessing whether LAND could be a possible alternative to the proposed flood-control dam on the Chehalis River.

As part of its deliberations, Board members are evaluating whether to include all, part or none of the LAND alternative as part of the Strategy. Similarly, the Board could also choose to only include the dam, or a combination of both proposals in the Strategy.

Current status: conceptual design

The team leading the LAND alternative approach includes Board members, local residents, and environmental groups. The team completed an initial report in 2024 that concluded if the proposal were adopted and built, the LAND alternative could provide significant flood protection in the upper Basin and possibly lower flood insurance premiums for residents. LAND could also enhance emergency evacuation routes and provide some recreational amenities.

Conceptual designs of nine levees are now being refined and will reach the next early design milestone in Summer 2026. After that, the next step is to work out the feasibility of that system and compare it to the proposed flow-through dam as part of the Chehalis Basin Board’s long-term strategy development process.

The team designing the proposed levee system has identified several priority areas that would protect the greatest number of homes and businesses while balancing cost effectiveness, maximizing natural processes, and maintaining emergency routes during times of flood. The precise alignments of the levees, however, will not be known for several years if the Board decides to include the LAND in its recommended long-term Chehalis Basin Strategy.

Questions and answers

On October 9, 2024, representatives for the LAND and the flood retention flow-through dam held a webinar to answer questions about their respective projects. Many of the questions below were raised during that webinar. 

Q: Will Ecology be preparing new draft environmental impact statements for the proposed Local Actions Non-Dam Alternative (LAND) project and proposed flood-retention dam and associated temporary reservoir on the Chehalis River? If so, what is the timeline for public review? What is the timeline for action by the Chehalis Basin Board?

Q: In 2023, the Chehalis Basin Board reported that Weyerhaeuser had refused to cooperate with a study the Board approved to address data gaps about the basin-scale impacts of forest practices on hydrology, flooding, and summer low flow levels. Has the company’s position changed? If not, should further planning for the proposed dam be halted until Weyerhaeuser cooperates?

Q: Don’t levees, as proposed under the LAND proposal, just transfer flooding downstream and make it worse for others?

Q: Can you please address the state environmental review process under the State Environmental Policy Act and the federal review process under the National Environmental Policy Act?

Q: Is the Chehalis Basin Board planning to provide flood damage assistance for homes or apartments? Are there any resources for improving property drainage?

Q: Will there will be a committee who will work on the next phase of LAND? If so, who will be on the committee?

Q: Where can one see a projected 2080 flood map?

Q: The only reason a dam or LAND are needed is because of short rotation timber harvesting in the headwaters and continued development in the floodplain down river. Why should the public pay for a dam to offset the impacts of Weyerhaueser forest management practices and City and County government development approvals?

Q: I live in the Skookumchuck and it floods there. How will the proposed dam help me and my neighbors?

Q: It’s important for community members to better understand how the flood-damage reduction projects being proposed for the Chehalis basin will be funded. How will the proposed LAND project be funded? How will the proposed flood-retention dam be funded? Would state or federal funding be used? How about local taxes?

Q: What impact would measures such as the levees or diversions proposed under the LAND have on aquatic resources, cultural resources, and ecological processes?