The idea of excavating a channel to divert Skagit River flow into the Barnaby Slough needs to be opposed, period.

It sets up the possibility of future flooding that nothing can mitigate. I see a big hose being laid down on an essentially flat surface in the direction of the south end of Martin Road, with no long term control of how much water would come out of it. If there was a catastrophic event, the entire area of Martin Road could be inundated.

I don’t want to see any of our neighbors having more flooding because of a fish habitat restoration project east of our neighborhood, but this one idea is strikes me as a set up for catastrophe.

During the Sedro-Woolley public meeting, the consultant for the company who did modeling work for the project assertively insisted that the future behavior of the river could not be known and that it would change over time. The study with all its data and sophisticated analytical commentary implies that it can be trusted to portray future reality. Hogwash! The whole proposal has a fixed quality to it that implies greater certainty about what will happen. That one aerial photograph showing water depth in a 100-year flood scenario may then be taken as evidence that the project presents no risk.

During the Sedro-Woolley meeting, Steve Hinton, Restoration Director, acknowledged that they had done a “worst case scenario” model that did show Martin Road under water. He said that they backed off from that! This means that the study fails to portray actual flood risk in the event of catastrophic events.

The Skagit River System Cooperative is doing a sales job,  trying to convince everyone that alternative #4 is safe and viable.