'Dam right? Dam wrong?': Lewis County Farm Forestry Association hosting meeting discussing proposed Chehalis River water retention facility
Jan. 3—With discussions surrounding the proposed water retention facility on the Chehalis River near Pe Ell ongoing, the Lewis County Farm Forestry Association (LCFFA) will host an educational meeting titled "Dam right? Dam wrong? Unlocking the mysteries of the proposed Chehalis River dam."
The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 16, at the Veterans Memorial Museum, located at 100 SW Veterans Way in Chehalis, according to a LCFFA news release.
Vince Panesko — an engineering consultant who studied and reviewed technical documents and conceptual designs for dams in the Chehalis River Basin going back to the original conceptual design featuring two dams in western Lewis County over 13 years ago — will lead the meeting.
He is currently working with engineers on locating borehole sites to gather geological data for a realignment of the proposed water retention facility onto Panesko Tree Farms LLC property.
"The purpose of Vince's presentation is to unlock the secrets of the Willapa Hills, thus revealing why a large dam has never been built on the upper Chehalis River," the release stated.
During his presentation, Panesko will address the history of logging's effect on flooding, why the Newaukum and Skookumchuck rivers are beginning to flood more frequently at higher levels, why a water retention facility should be considered when a levee could be used to protect certain areas, how much flood reduction mathematical models predict town by town if the water retention facility is constructed, and more.
"Panesko has spent his lifetime in the defense nuclear industry and has led many design review teams for large construction projects for processing or storing radioactive wastes both at Hanford and at Department of Energy sites across the United States," the release added. "His latest webinar on how millions of gallons of radioactive waste perched on ancient lake beds under Hanford threaten the safety of future Hanford operations is available on YouTube."
For more information, email Panesko at vince@owt.com or LCFFA President Rick Kuykendall at rickkuy@msn.com.
The LCFFA is a part of the Washington Farm Forestry association, a nonprofit for forest landowners within the state whose members own anywhere from a few to a few thousand acres of land and manage them for timber, wildlife, recreation and more.
It has 1,300 family memberships managing more than 150,000 acres of forest land in Washington, according to its website. To learn more, visit https://www.wafarmforestry.com/.
