The owner of a dam in Sultan was hit with a $20,000 fine over violations Ecology calls a rainy season hazard. Neighbors report overtopping and erosion. Officials warn downstream homes and an RV park could flood.
A Snohomish County property owner was fined $20,000 for having a dam that is considered a safety hazard.
The Department of Ecology worries it won’t hold up through the rainy season and could flood a nearby neighborhood.
"We’re still trying to work with the owner to make sure there’s some sort of plan in place," Department of Ecology Dam Safety Section Manager Samantha Long explained.
Neighbor Bruce Grovdahl claims there’s been little work to fix the dam off 132nd Street and Sultan Basin Road and he’s seen it overtop, most recently during the December atmospheric river event.
“The whole side of it’s caving in, so it’s not in good shape,” Grovdahl explained. "They’ve got it drained down now about six or eight feet, but they way they’ve got it set up, it’s not going to last. It’s going to plug up again."
A photo of a dam on private property in Sultan. The Washington Department of Ecology issued a $20,000 penalty to the owner. (KOMO News)The Department of Ecology has been working with the property owner since then, Long said, and managed water back down to lower levels. Inspectors found potentially unstable slopes and problems with the systems designed to safely release water. The dam was initially unpermitted, Long said.
While Grovdahl’s property isn’t at risk of flooding if the dam fails, Ecology predicts the damage could reach other homes, roads, and a nearby RV park.
"Worst case scenario, you’re looking at those homes being flooded with two to three feet of water downstream," Long stated.
Ecology issued a $20,000 fine to the property owner on Sept. 24 for repeatedly failing to complete required repairs.
The unpermitted dam is about 220 feet long and 19 feet high. The crest is approximately 10 feet wide and is estimated to hold 12-acre feet of water, officials reported. Overtopping has put the dam’s foundation at risk and caused erosion.
"I can sympathize with them [because of the fine], but yeah, if it’s not going to last, we need to get it fixed," neighbor Sheila Welch added.
The Department of Ecology claims this case is part of a broader issue of dam safety for permitted and unpermitted dams across the state, and the agency aims to be more proactive in working with property owners with permitted and unpermitted dams to make sure they are in proper shape.
"We’re developing a finalized matrix so that we can start classifying them in order by dams that are most at risk, so most critical, and our compliance person is working on making sure we’re providing the assistance, reaching out to them," Long stated.
KOMO News was not able to get ahold of the Sultan property owner as of Friday afternoon, but Long said the owner has indicated she may sell the property before the required work is finished.
Ecology estimates the owner has avoided more than $150,000 in costs by not meeting the state’s dam safety requirements. She has 30 days to appeal the fine.
