DUTCH VALLEY resident Jim Wold makes a very good point in talking about government policy regarding flooding – there’s help during a flood and help after, but not much before.
Help in this case, according to Mr. Wold, is the financing of protective measures to stop or ease the impact on landowners of flood waters.
To be sure, Mother Nature will do what she does and there’s not much one can do once she makes up her mind. Still, as winter comes to an end and as spring arrives in the northwest, many pairs of eyes are glancing at the surrounding mountains, wondering when all that snow will turn into water and how much of that water will be flowing through streams, creeks and rivers at any one time.
Already there are comparisons being drawn to the May-June 2007 period when weather conditions combined with a high snowpack resulted in water flooding over highways, flooding over farmland and causing millions in property damage and economic disruption.
That’s not to say this spring will be a repeat of five years ago but Mr. Wold’s comments bear remembering for they very much tie into that old saying – an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Mr. Wold’s hope is that someone, somewhere, someplace in the government is working on that ounce of prevention right now. We should all hope for the same.