Susan Hutchison, who is facing Dow Constantine for the King County Executive position in the Nov. 3 general action, offered this statement on Green River flood prevention:

“This morning I attended the news conference featuring Gov. Gregoire regarding potentially catastrophic flooding along the Green River, and while I commend steps being taken for emergency preparations now, prevention efforts are insufficient and overdue.

Authorities have been aware of the gravity of Green River flooding for eight months. Last spring King County should have begun a robust effort to shore up the levees at risk of a breach. Now, citizens are being told to buy flood insurance and prepare for evacuations. Announcing the reprioritizing of a mere $8.5 million from the Ferry District to shore up the levees starting today is not enough.

We are facing an economic and environmental disaster that could result in billions of dollars in losses. This is not a pastoral region where flooding means cows can’t graze for a few weeks. This flooding could shut down the second largest warehouse and distribution center on the West Coast. It includes the Boeing Commercial Airplanes headquarters as well as thousands of other small businesses, industrial companies, rail lines and fuel depots. The pollutants and toxic chemicals that enter the flood waters from these sources will eventually end up in Puget Sound via the Duwamish River.

The levees have been deteriorating for years but it is well documented that when Council members tried to establish the critical Flood District tax to raise funds for levy repairs, Council Chair Dow Constantine used it as a bargaining chip to get his unnecessary and costly Ferry District tax. This politicizing of such an important safety and economic need is one of the reasons the county faces this crisis today.

King County government is spending millions of dollars to relocate the Election Center in time for the November general election, and is planning to move 800 inmates from the Regional Justice Center and relocate the judiciary that practices there. The county will take care of its own, but who will speak for the 30,000 residents of this region, many of whom are seniors with limited mobility or live in low-cost housing and whose only hope for the next five years of probable flooding is to buy expensive flood insurance? Who is working to prevent the ruin of businesses which are already vulnerable due to the recession?

The taxpayers of King County deserve more protection from the leadership of the county and they deserve it immediately. The call for leadership has been sounded and it is time for our elected officials to implement exhaustive measures to ensure the safety and protection of the region and those who live and work there.”