‘People were so traumatized’; Carnation city leaders demand action on Seattle’s Tolt Dam

Carnation wants action on Tolt River Dam

People in Carnation have spoken, and they are done living with risk of the Tolt River Dam collapsing, especially since they have seen none of the reward from the water it supplies.

CARNATION, Wash. - People in Carnation have spoken, and they are done living with risk of the Tolt River Dam collapsing, especially since they have seen none of the reward from the water it supplies.

The dam belongs to the City of Seattle, which has been scrambling to reassure the town they’re safe, following a false alarm that sent the community scrambling for high ground.

More than 200 people attended the public forum regarding the future of Tolt Dam.

Tolt Dam sits above the city of Carnation, with a population of about 2,200 people. If the dam were to get damaged, it could cause irreparable destruction and a citywide evacuation.

"On Saturday, we heard from some people who were so traumatized from the July 28 incident, they actually leave town on Wednesdays, so they don't have to listen to the alarm," said Ana Cortez, Carnation's City Manager.

To assure people in Carnation are prepared for a possible disaster, every Wednesday, an alarm sounds throughout the city.

"Anything that happens not on a Wednesday is the real deal," Cortez said.

In 2020, a false alarm rang throughout the community for more than 40 minutes.

"People panicked, people cried, people injured themselves, folks tried to collect their animals," Cortez said.

The PTSD from that false alarm three years ago still affects many of the community members. Last Saturday's meeting was for their concerns to be heard by Carnation and Seattle leaders.

"In '62, the City of Seattle built a dam that has the ability to completely destroy the City of Carnation, but there were no terms negotiated with the City of Carnation," Cortez said.

Cortez said the people of carnation are burdened with the risk of losing everything at any point in time, if something happened to the Tolt Dam. Yet, they don't get anything in return.

"We get zero benefits from that dam right now," Cortez said. "All of that water [is] for Seattle and the agencies that buy water from Seattle. Not one drop comes to the City of Carnation, because we have our own water source—we don't need that dam."

Problems with Tolt Dam early warning system siren prompted the City of Carnation to adopt a state of emergency declaration this past August.

The declaration was adopted unanimously by the Carnation City Council, that's because of its concerns and doubts about the City of Seattle’s ability to operate the Tolt Dam.

In a statement to FOX 13, the City of Seattle said:

"Seattle Public Utilities’ top priority is to decommission the old Tolt Dam early warning system and commission Carnation’s new, state-of-the-art early warning system as soon as possible.

Based on feedback from residents on the new warning system, we are making minor adjustments and anticipate decommissioning the old system and fully transitioning to the new system, which will provide better reliability and resiliency, on October 18."

Representatives from both Seattle and Carnation are now scheduled to negotiate a community benefit agreement that could include mitigation and franchise fees.