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Editorial: Rainier Manor needs clear course of action

The residents of Sumner’s Rainier Manor felt like they had been thrown a life vest when the city acquired funding for a flood wall to protect the 55-and-older mobile home community from the Puyallup River.

But that funding disappeared and residents are once again left treading water.

It’s a reoccurring theme for Rainier Manor residents. East Pierce County is only supposed to flood once every 100 years but the Puyallup has breached its banks three times since 1996. For many living in this region, it’s an irritant. For those living mere feet away from the river bank, like Rainier Manor residents, it’s devastating.

At the beginning of 2009, the city received a $200,000 grant that was earmarked for a flood wall to protect those living along the river. It was only a small part of the $4 million project and the city was never able to find additional funding. When the year came to a close, city leaders had the choice of losing that money completely or re-applying for the grant so they could use it elsewhere in the city. Naturally, they opted to keep the money in Sumner. Who could begrudge the city that decision?

But it doesn’t solve the problem for residents living along the river banks. Each year, when winter rain accumulates in the valley or warm spring weather melt snow in the mountains, residents worry about the fate of their homes.

At the end of the day, they feel trapped. Most live on a fixed income and can’t afford to continue rebuilding their homes after each flood. Additionally, each time their home is damaged, they are getting less from insurance.

They can’t sell their homes because no one wants to buy property in a known flood zone. Some have decided to just walk away, losing everything they had invested in their home. Those who stay just wait for the next flood, watching the river every time the water rises.

Assurances that they haven’t been forgotten mean little to Rainier Manor residents — there have been conversations and studies done for years but very little action.

City leaders need to develop a plan of attack. That could be a flood wall or river dredging, which residents also support. Primarily, though, they need an immediate solution, not something that will take decades to put into place.