Agencies Working On Latah Creek Plan

Members of the public are invited to a meeting tonight on flood prevention along Latah Creek in south Spokane.

The state Department of Ecology is coordinating a stream management plan with other public agencies and residents.

The meeting will be in the community center at the Cascade Mobile Home Community, 2311 W. 16th, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Nancy Weller, watershed manager for the Ecology Department, said the plan has been under discussion since flooding in February 1996 caused damage along Latah Creek.

Floods returned last New Year’s Day and brought more damage to homes, businesses and two public golf courses along the creek.

Midwinter rains caused low-lying snowpack to melt and trigger both floods.

Weller said the Spokane County Conservation District already has developed a flood plan for the upper reaches of Latah Creek, which flows out of North Idaho into Spokane County.

The plan being organized by the Ecology Department will address downstream areas, she said.

The creek is also known as Hangman Creek.

Much of the damage from floods is caused when weak stream banks are eroded away by high water. Ecology officials believe damage can be prevented by stabilizing stream banks with vegetation or rock.

Public officials also are urging Spokane County to limit new development within the creek’s flood plain. Low-lying land can absorb a lot of water during high flows and then release it as the river recedes. Thus, if preserved in a natural state, the flood plain can buffer the intensity of the raging waters, Weller said.

, DataTimes