Last night, I covered a meeting between county officials and Manchester residents on stormwater management. The county is planning to install “green” techniques like rain gardens, bioswales and pervious pavement in strategic locations around town.
Manchester is notorious for is mid-winter flooding. The town, on Puget Sound, sits at the bottom of a hillside. The water table is high and the soil in many places nonporous. Manchester may as well be at the bottom of a bowl. When winter rains hit, resident Dave Denniston thinks about going white water rafting.
All kidding aside, flooding in Manchester is a chronic problem. I reported on an appeal back in 2007 related to a 2006 mudslide that threatened properties downhill. The county took a video of the slide in action the day after heavy rains that kicked it off. The video was shown as part of a hearing on the appeal before the hearing examiner.
I found the video riveting and still get a kick out of watching it, especially seeing two county employees, uttering in amazement, jump back from the brink as another chunk of mud falls into a 15 foot ravine. So now, back by popular demand … Manchester Mudslide, The Movie.
