Colfax City Hall issues update on Clay Street dirt debate

A city letter updating residents of Park Street and Clay Street on the status of City of Colfax response to the last flooding of the neighborhood has been delivered to home owners in the neighborhood. The letter was presented to the city council Dec. 3 and delivered to neighborhood residents the next morning.

The letter noted some residents of the neighborhood have requested an update on the response the city had made to correct the problem.

Two heavy rainstorms within a week last July caused water and mud to flow off the east hill of Colfax. The cloudburst left tons of mud along Clay Street and plugged the city storm drain which drops water into the South Fork of the Palouse River at the channel outlet below Rosauers.

The Clay Street floods have been an ongoing topic at prior city sessions. The cloudbursts and the source of the erosion from a summer fallow field on the east hill have been factors in the discussions. Mike Damery, who operated his landscaping business at the former state DOT shops on Clay, sought an update in the prior round on the topic.

The city letter to residents reported on a session which involved Clay Street residents, Whitman Conservation District, insurers and members of the Cocking family, who farm the land above Park and Clay. They discussed the runoff with the representative of the Department of Ecology. The letter noted the city has not received an official response from DOE officials. It also notes the Cockings have informed the city they are working with the DOE and conservation district to reduce erosion potential.

The city letter was signed by Councilman Jim Kackman, chairman of the city’s Public Works department, City Administrator Carl Thompson and Mayor Todd Vanek.

Some members of the council Monday noted they had checked out the Clay/Park area to see if the weekend’s heavy rains had taken a toll. They reported they didn’t find signs of damage. Mayor Vanek at a previous session pointed out the neighborhood could be subjected to another flood until the conditions change.