Yellow Pages
SAMISH ISLAND — Water flowed over the dikes along the Samish River, flooding roads and homes from Allen to Samish Island over the past several days of rain storms.
But when it comes to determining whether or not the dikes held up to the power of last week’s near-historic Samish River flood, the answers vary. In Skagit, 23 dike or drainage districts protect 55,000 acres of land from Skagit and Samish river flooding and high tides. There are roughly 147 miles of levies and dikes.
Commissioners for Dike, Drainage and Irrigation District No. 5 say the dikes in their district didn’t break, but commissioners with Dike District No. 25 say it’s too soon to tell.
“There’s no way we can tell until the water goes down and we can see,” said Jerry Nelson, a commissioner with District No. 25. “If there is a break, we won’t be surprised because of the volume of water.”
Jim Sullivan, a commissioner for District No. 5, said he rode his all-terrain vehicle along the north and south sides of the Samish and didn’t see any breaks in the dikes. On Sunday, water still poured over the top, 6 inches deep for a 50-foot stretch, he said.
“It’s like you’re trying to pour water out of a pitcher into a bottle, and the bottle is where the dike begins at Thomas Road,” Sullivan said. “There’s way too much water to go down the river, and what doesn’t go down goes around.”
Nelson, who has lived in Skagit County for all of his 64 years, said he’s never seen water over Samish Island Road.
On Monday, water still covered sections of Farm-to-Market, Thomas and Bay View-Edison roads and Chuckanut Drive.
“I don’t know if we could have gotten the dikes high enough to contain it,” Nelson said.
The problem was melting from December’s heavy snowfall combined with last week’s heavy rainfall. The Samish’s level peaked at about 14 feet around midnight on Jan. 7. There is no set flood stage for the Samish, but the river was 7 feet high just three days prior.
“People have got to understand that the more construction in the hills, the more water we’re handling,” Nelson said. “Trees can contain water. Asphalt can make it run.”
Samish Islanders, who really live on a peninsula, are used to dealing with extreme storms.
“After a good blow, people go out and hose the seaweed off their houses,” said Chuck Davis, president of the Samish Island Community Center.
Being cut off was a new experience, and it brought neighbors together, he said.
Community members came together, piling sandbags to save neighbors’ homes and helping people when water covering roadways cut them off from the rest of Skagit County. On Samish Island, one resident with a dump truck used a flatbed trailer to transport some of his neighbors’ cars over the flooded roadway.
“There was a huge amount of constant activity down at the barricade. I met more people I didn’t know,” Davis said.
The flooding emphasized the importance of maintaining the dikes, Nelson said.
Marta Murvosh can be reached at 360-416-2149 or .
