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POSTED: Thursday, Jan. 08, 2009

Rain, melting snow brings floods, landslides, avalanches to Whatcom County

Coming right on the heels of December's arctic snow storms, the warm, rainy weather that hammered Whatcom County Wednesday, Jan. 7, produced a bevy of problems for residents.

From floods to landslides to avalanches, the heavy rain and melting snow created a state of emergency in Whatcom County Wednesday. Emergencies were also declared in Ferndale, Lynden and Bellingham.

The Nooksack River at Nugents Corner was running two feet above flood levels throughout the day, although it had stopped rising by Wednesday evening.

It rose about 8 feet in 24 hours, according to U.S. Geological Survey statistics.

At 4 p.m. Wednesday, about an inch and a half of rain had fallen at Bellingham International Airport in the past 24 hours, according to the National Weather Service.

The agency reported that rainfall was much higher in other areas of the county, and especially in the North Cascades.

The river and rains flooded many streets throughout the county, creating traffic snarls as drivers were forced onto cramped detours. Major roads such as Meridian Street, Hannegan Road, Highway 9 and Slater Road were among those closed.

A lane of Interstate 5 near Lake Samish was cut off by mudslides.

The river threatened thawing dikes, said Paula Cooper, engineering manager for rivers and flooding at Whatcom County Public Works. The dikes, which are just starting to recover from December's freezing weather, are questionable in their ability to hold back water, Cooper said.

"With the river up this far, it's not a pretty picture," she said. "It's going to be iffy all the way down the river on this one."

"This is a big one," she said. "Some of the people I'm talking to are saying this is historic in terms of the creeks flowing out."

Downriver in Lynden, the rising river backed up creeks and culverts, which knocked out power and flooded streets, Public Works Director Duane Huskey said. Water levels came close to the city's 100-year flood mark, he said.

"It made our wastewater treatment plant into an island," Huskey said.

In Bellingham, an overtaxed sewage treatment system led to a discharge of sewage and stormwater into Bellingham Bay, but officials think most of it was stormwater.

An overflow facility along C Street discharged sewage into the bay via a 96-inch-diameter pipe, as it's designed to do when there's too much water in the sewage treatment system, said Tom Rosenberg, acting director of Bellingham Public Works. Still, it's the first time it's done that in four years.

Lake Whatcom was rising as much as one-quarter foot an hour, said Bill Boyd, Bellingham fire chief.

The city's flood-control dam along Whatcom Creek near Electric Avenue was partially open and letting water into Whatcom Creek, but officials worried they may have to open it more to keep the lake's level from rising too much and flooding lake-side houses. City officials planned to contact residents along the creek to let them know of the potential, said Joy Monjure, Bellingham Public Works spokeswoman.

Lots of cloudy water was spilling into the lake from creeks and runoff, but there is no threat to the city's drinking water, Rosenberg said.

"I don't think the city's going to have a drinking-water emergency," he told city leaders.

About a dozen residents were evacutated near Acme Wednesday morning due to landslides and flooding on Hillside and Nelson roads.

Schools in Bellingham, Lynden and Mount Baker districts closed for the day while others let students out early.

Sandbags stations were set up in parts of the county for people trying to find ways to stop the water from entering their homes.

Several avalanches closed Mount Baker Highway past Coal Creek Bridge east of Glacier, and crews will not try to clear them until the weather improves and the avalanche danger subsides, said Bronlea Mishler, a spokeswoman with the state Department of Transportation

As many as 18 rivers across Western Washington flooded Wednesday, according to Ted Buehner, a meterologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle. Buehner said the flooding may be as bad as it's been regionally in 20 years.

Reach Peter Jensen at 715-2264 or at peter.jensen@bellinghamherald.com