NEWS
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
Eff ects of fl ood linger long after damage was done
The water receded
two years ago but the
recovery eff orts
are still ongoing
By ANTONIO SIERRA
Hermiston Herald
Umatilla County con-
tinues to recover from the
2020 Umatilla River floods
while trying to figure out
how to better respond to
the next high water event.
Heavy rains combined
with a rapidly melting
snowpack overwhelmed
the banks of the Umatilla
River on Feb. 6, 2020,
destroying homes, dam-
aging public infrastruc-
ture, displacing families
and killing one person.
Two years later, local offi-
cials still are picking up
the pieces while trying
to coordinate with a wide
array of state, tribal and
federal agencies.
“Recovery from a nat-
ural disaster like that is
years long,” Umatilla
County Emergency Man-
ager Tom Roberts said.
“It’s not something that
happens, generally speak-
ing, overnight or within
months. We kind of put our
five-10-year hats on.”
Pendleton City Man-
ager Robb Corbett has
spent many hours over the
past few years thinking
about floods, not just the
Umatilla River flood from
2020, but also the McKay
Creek floods from 2019.
Roughly three years after
the McKay floods, Cor-
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald, File
People survey the receding water level at Riverview Mobile Home Estates in Pendleton in February 2020.
bett said the city is on the
verge of soliciting a con-
sultant to make recommen-
dations on how to help pre-
vent significant flooding in
the future. The consultant
is grant-funded and the
city is hoping to work with
the Umatilla County Water
and Soil Conservation Dis-
trict to secure more fed-
eral funding to fortify the
banks of the creek.
The Umatilla River is a
different beast entirely.
Unlike McKay Creek,
the Umatilla is undammed
and without a reservoir.
Corbett said the most
direct method of mitiga-
tion would be to install a
dam, but the environmen-
tal impacts of such a move
make it an unlikely option.
He said more plausible
solutions include extend-
ing the city’s levee system
to the area near the High-
way 11 bridge and raising
home foundations to better
withstand flood waters.
But before the city can
take any long-term steps to
better protect people and
property during the next
fl ood, it fi rst needs to update
its fl oodplain maps. Resi-
dents and property owners
learned the maps were not
accurate after areas fl ooded
that were supposed to be
outside the fl oodplain.
Corbett said the city is
in the process of obtain-
ing aerial mapping of the
town, but also would need
computer flood simula-
tions and approval from the
Federal Emergency Man-
agement Agency before it
could update the maps.
Pendleton wasn’t the
only community the 2020
fl oods hit hard. The Uma-
tilla Indian Reservation,
Echo and the area surround-
ing Milton-Freewater all
saw signifi cant damage. In
the latter’s case, Umatilla
County Commissioner Dan
Dorran said there still are
people who live along Mill
Creek and the south fork of
the Walla Walla River who
haven’t been able to return
to their homes.
Dorran has been a part
of a multi-agency group
trying to coordinate the
recovery effort, but the
pace of progress has been
slow. Dorran said the
recovery’s deliberate time-
line can be a tough sell to
constituents.
“It’s been frustrating
how long it’s taken,” he
said.
Dorran referenced the
Thorn Hollow Bridge, a
bridge east of Pendleton
that was heavily damaged
during the floods and has
remained unusable since
then. Dorran said plans are
ready and the funding is in
place to replace the bridge,
but construction can’t start
until the county gets the
green light from the Con-
federated Tribes of the
Umatilla Indian Reserva-
tion and other government
agencies. Dorran added he
expects CTUIR to com-
plete its review of the proj-
ect soon.
At its peak, the flood-
ing caused the Umatilla
River to flow at more than
20,000 cubic feet per sec-
ond, the most in the river’s
recorded history.
After the fl ood, the city
updated its “Flood Fight
Procedures” to give city
staff a clear plan when-
ever the next fl ood comes.
Included in the plan is a
detailed list of procedures
for when water levels reach
9,500, 12,000 and 16,000
cubic feet per second.
In the event water levels
exceed 22,000 cfs, the plan
only has a single sentence.
“Initiate recommenda-
tion evacuation procedures
behind the levee.”
Business owner joins packed Umatilla County commissioner race
Hermiston Herald
The race for Umatilla County
Board of Commissioners Posi-
tion 1 continues to grow ahead of
the March 8 filing deadline.
On Feb. 15, Bob Barton of
Hermiston joined a field that
already included four other can-
didates. Barton is the owner of
Barton Laser Leveling, a con-
struction business that special-
izes in land clearing, excavation,
demolition and site preparation.
A graduate of Hermiston High
School, Barton holds an asso-
ciate’s degree from the Oregon
Institute of Technology.
The Position 1 seat is open after
incumbent Commissioner George
Murdock decided to retire. Prior
to Barton joining the race, four
other candidates already fi led
for the position: Jesse Bonifer of
Athena, the owner of Advanced
Tarps and Covers and an Athena
city councilor; Susan Bower of
Pendleton, the owner of Eastern
Oregon Business Source; Cindy
Timmons of Milton-Freewater, a
co-owner of Marv’s Glass Shop;
and Alvin Young of Hermiston,
the manager of Elmer’s Irrigation.
The only other county office
up for election in 2022 is Posi-
tion 2 on the board of com-
missioners, where incumbent
Commissioner John Shafer is
running against conservative
activist HollyJo Beers. If no
other candidates join the race
for Position 2, Shafer and Beers
won’t appear on the ballot until
the Nov. 8 general election. For
Position 1, all candidates will
compete for the top two spots
during the May 17 primary.
Regardless of the results, the
top vote-getters will advance to
a November runoff.
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