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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1913 - 1913 Act of Legislation for Flood Control in Duwamish ValleyGreen River is also black and white BY PAT BRODIN TUKWILA HISTORICAL SOCIETY The Green River winding its way into the Duwamish north of Fort Dent has had a rather colorful his- tory. In fact the Green River was really the White River for centuries until after a serious flood occurred changing its course. In a 1913 Act of Legislation forming a joint river commission between King County and Pierce counties, the two coun- ties agreed to permanently divert the waters of the White River to Tacoma. By this agreement the channels of the White came into the Stuck River near Game Farm Park in Auburn, and dumping into the Puyallup River to allevi- ate the Duwamish Valley, required King County to compensate Pierce County for flood damage repairs and flood control measures along the Puyallup. It was the catastrophic 1906 flood that brought about this per- manent change when autumn rains never stopped until the White River became particularly violent in November of that fateful year. The Green/Duwamish River in South King County frequently flooded before it was controlled by the Howard Hansen Dam. Tukwila Historical Society It was reported that the White/ Duwamish River Valley was a lake between the West Hill and the East Hill to the present-day Boe- ing Field. In most places the water was deep enough to allow row- boats to pass over fence lines and other high obstructions. Before the floodwaters crested, a massive log jam occurred at Auburn, cutting a channel down through to the Stuck River and thence into the Puyallup. The renaming of the river from the White to the Green was recom- mended years later by none other than Col. Hiram Chittenden, the Seattle District Engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers after whom the canal locks are named. For years preceding this event, there had been interference by citizens of both counties relative to the White River flowing through the Stuck channel. Early settlers did not want their fertile claims flooded and often made covert modifications redirecting the water the other direction. It was locally known that gun -toting farmers would stand guard on crude debris levees to maintain the status quo. Today the Duwamish receives only the waters from the Green River basin and other ancillary creeks and drainages along the way. The Cedar River once flowed into the Black River but was redirected to Lake Washington to make up flow losses through the newly in- stalled Government Locks at Salm- on Bay that lowered the lake. As a result, the Lake Washington outlet no longer flowed to the Duwamish through the Black. The Black River has been reduced to a short thread of flow that is fed from Springbrook Creek via a flood control facility in Renton. Pat Brodin is a member of the Tukwila Historical Society. The so- ciety operates the Tukwila Heritage and Cultural Center, 14475 59th Ave. S. The center can be reached by phone at 206-244-HIST or via email at tukwilaheritagectr@tukwilahis- tory.org.