Losing Ground New Government Plan May Bring Hangman Creek Under Control

One of the last of the truck farmers in the Latah Valley has stood his ground against urban encroachment over the years.

But there is one force he can’t resist. Hangman Creek, which flows through the valley, has washed away at least three acres of soil from the land Harlow Hotrum inherited from his father.

It is gone forever.

The creek, Hotrum said, “is constantly digging away. It erodes underneath. Then the bank falls away.”

Officials long have lamented the problem.

“All they’ve been doing is looking at it and talking about it,” Hotrum said.

Being optimistic, Hotrum is hoping a new government plan unveiled last week during a 90-minute meeting can eventually tame the flood-prone creek.

A three-year study - called the Hangman (Latah) Creek Comprehensive Flood Hazard Management Plan — looked at the lower 25 miles of the Hangman Creek. The study has produced recommendations on protecting property and controlling the flooding.

“They’ve got some good plans here now,” said Hotrum.

Flood problems crested in the late 1990s when two successive midwinter torrents scoured the channel. In February 1996, the first rampage sent 14,600 cubic feet of brown muddy water churning down the creek every second.

Eleven months later, a New Year’s thaw with heavy rain sent the creek to a record-tying volume of 20,600 cubic feet per second.

The two floods caused at least $3.4 million in damage and left many pieces of property in peril. One home in the swank Highland Park subdivision literally hangs at the edge of an unstable precipice.

The Hangman Creek problem starts on the upper reaches of the watershed where land that once held trees and shrubs has been converted to farmland.

It began at least 60 years ago when the government paid to have land cleared and drained to increase agricultural production during World War II.

In Idaho, three miles of the creek were straightened. Elsewhere ditches were dug to drain swampy areas.

“With that came the degradation of our riparian areas,” said Walt Edelen, water resources program manager for the Spokane County Conservation District.

Now, when the ground is frozen or covered with snow, the creek can go out of control. A quick change in the weather can melt the snow and spill the runoff from the fields. Normally, the top layer of soil goes with it. There aren’t enough trees, swampy areas and side channels to absorb or slow the flow.

Downstream, the channel has been straightened and constricted, which allows the stream to move too fast.

A good example is the construction of U.S. Highway 195 at the north end of The Creek at Qualchan Golf Course. The highway was built across the creek and blocked a circuitous section known as a meander in 1948.

Now, the channel makes a right-hand turn and enters what one scientist said is the most severely degraded portion of the stream.

As the water drops in elevation, it picks up speed and crashes into the bank at the Finish Line Trailer Court at 3911 S. Inland Empire Way.

The flood in 1997 forced the removal of one manufactured home.

“We’ve lost a lot of land here,” said Dale Wright, an owner of the Finish Line.

Just downstream, the creek chewed out a half-acre of pasture land owned by Jack Kampa.

Kampa is trying to raise contributions from property owners along the stretch, including the state Highway Department and Avista Corp., to secure matching funds for repair work.

The state Department of Ecology is willing to spend $84,000 on stream repairs but only if the owners pony up an equal amount.

Kampa and Avista have access to east bank properties across a private bridge.

“If we don’t do anything, the bridge could be threatened,” Kampa said.

The amount of money it will take to repair the bank and protect creek side property is astounding.

The city of Spokane’s golf fund spent about $850,000 to stabilize banks at The Creek at Qualchan Golf Course. Work was done to protect the clubhouse and various greens and tees. The project will be paid through higher greens fees.

A bank stabilization project at Highland Park subdivision was abandoned last summer when the 80-foot bank collapsed during the work. Now the owners of one home have been told it would be safer to abandon their $500,000 home.

Two lawsuits have been filed by homeowners against the developers and others involved in the project.

The cost of work at Highland Park was comparable to the golf course project, one attorney said.

Other repair work was done to protect a fuel pipeline near the Hatch Road Bridge and a major railroad line along the bluff of the South Hill.

Hotrum’s fields are downstream from the railroad work. He said the stabilization work done for the railroad caused the creek to flow toward his bank and increase the erosion.

He wonders how he is going to get his land fixed.

“Most of us can’t afford to go ahead and do it on our own,” Hotrum said. “There’s no one who can afford $200,000 to $300,000 to have it fixed.”

And there’s one of the benefits of the Hangman Creek flood plan.

Edelen of the county conservation district said government agencies are more likely to approve grants for stream repairs with a comprehensive plan in place.

The plan itself includes recommendations by a stream scientist - known as a fluvial geomorphologist - about the best way to control and improve creek flow.

Nearly all of the techniques include planting of vegetation to provide structural strength and wildlife habitat.

The management plan also includes proposals for increasing protection of what is called the meander belt, an area on either side of the stream that could be affected by floods. Those proposals will be forwarded to the Spokane City Council and county commissioners.

Edelen said the idea is to limit or control development within the stream belt to minimize flooding.

But the main thrust of the plan is to allow the creek to flow naturally and to fit human activities around it.

“This particular document stresses the idea of working with the river,” Edelen said.