Pilchuck River eroding banks, flooding Snohomish County homes

Some Lake Stevens residents say the Pilchuck River is eroding their property because of decisions Snohomish County made decades ago.

They are not alone. Their neighbors downstream in Snohomish are seeing their yards and houses flooded too.

This is happening in a small area along the Pilchuck River. But it is having a huge impact on several homeowners in two Snohomish County cities.

Scroll down to continue reading

More news from KIRO 7

• Texas marksman fires ...14 seconds later he hits target 3 miles away
• Social worker overlooked boy's abuse, bribed by $10,000 in food stamps, prosecutors say
• Scammers stealing phone numbers from T-Mobile customers to steal money
• Today in Seattle History: I-5 is completed from Everett to Seattle in 1965
• Prosecutors: Counter-Strike co-creator Jess Cliffe paid teen for sex

DOWNLOAD OUR FREE NEWS APP

Rebecca Wilson, who owns a home in Lake Stevens, told KIRO 7 how flooding has affected this area.

"It's just been this past January a little bit into this yard. And of course, this flood is what really took out this yard," Wilson said.

Wilson said the Pilchuck River is eroding her property and that of her neighbors in Lake Stevens. "Getting three trees or more knocked down every hour, as we stand here and watch our neighbor's tree house and all their land wash into the river."

"This is what my property looked like before all the flood," said Marek Novy, as he pointed to a photo of a lush green backyard overlooking a narrow Pilchuck River.

He says he has watched helplessly as the Pilchuck River has washed away more and more of his land.

"I had my office-tree house which was standing here, still this morning," he said.  "And that was about where you see it right here."

Drone video shows how much water has left the river.  A road is flooded, and several backyards, too.

"They said it's happened a few times," said James Edmondson. "But it's not every year though."

His backyard is one of those flooded, and his basement is filled with water.

"I'm going to have to tear out the drywall, but it's alright," he said.

In Lake Stevens, they blame the pillars of an old Pilchuck River bridge for their troubles.  And they say no one will help.

"There's not much we can do," Wilson said. "The state says we can't put things in the river to shore it up. So we can't make it so our land doesn't deteriorate. So we're just stuck, losing more land every time there is a flood."

Nate Nehring, the Snohomish County councilman who represents the district, said the county can't use taxpayer dollars to help private homeowners.
  
Nehring says there is at least one grant program they can apply to, and they established a flood control district here to try to deal with this issue.
  
But even if Snohomish County officials were here right now, they couldn't stop the Pilchuck from eroding the homeowners' property. The residents affected will likely have yet another sleepless night.  

Cox Media Group