Flood Victims Face Years Of Cleanup In Walla Walla, Columbia Counties

WAITSBURG, Walla Walla County - The "Lilies for sale" sign is posted in front of Patti and Frank McGraw's house once again.

Resurrection of their lily business is a hopeful sign of recovery from flooding that forced the McGraws out of their 110-year-old cedar home in this southeastern Washington town.

Plenty of work remains, from planting grass to replacing screws and extension cords.

"Every time I look for something, it went with the flood," Patti McGraw said. "It's really overwhelming. It's been almost five months, and there's still a preponderance of work to do."

It's much the same for road crews.

Thirty-three of Columbia County's 67 bridges were damaged in flooding that followed a sudden thaw in February.

Bridge and road repair bills are estimated at $8 million in Columbia County and $5 million to $6 million in neighboring Walla Walla County.

Most flood-damaged roads have been reopened, but officials say it will take about two years to complete repairs.

"My hope is that by winter, people will be able to get where they need to go without carrying reduced loads or without having to detour around closed roads," said Gary Gasaway, a Columbia County engineer.

Crews are hustling to do road work as fast as possible so farmers can get to their fields for harvest.

"We're tackling the high-priority things now," said John Dirr, a Walla Walla County engineer.

For flooded-out homeowners such as the McGraws, cleanup would have been impossible without volunteer and government help.

Volunteers from the Waitsburg Council of Churches and the Mormon Church in nearby Dayton helped repair damage from flooding along the Touchet River, which left 17 truckloads of mud in the McGraws' yard and 23 inches on floors.

A small cash grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency helped replace furniture and appliances, and they hope the agency will reimburse them for a $1,400 loan they secured to excavate mud from beneath the house.

The McGraws also want to shore up a dike behind their home that lost 3 feet during the flooding, but the damage didn't make a priority list of $240,000 in repairs that FEMA inspectors drafted for the area, and Army Corps of Engineers officials say they are prohibited from doing that work.

The couple, who are in their mid-60s and live on Social Security, fear they will be unable to afford the dike work to protect against future flooding. They also want to raise their home about 4 feet higher, which would cost $20,000 to $30,000 more.

In addition, they're unsure they can afford adequate flood insurance. They bought a basic flood insurance policy for $158 annually, but they believe they would need to spend $500 to $600 to adequately cover their home and contents.

"I think I'm never going to get everything done,"' Patti McGraw said.