Our Multi-Billion Dollar Challenge: The Nooksack River Today & Tomorrow
Floods! Fish! Farms ! Our Future!
Advance reservations are strongly encouraged; click here to purchase tickets.
Atmospheric rivers pummel us with ever greater frequency, and our changing climate will impact the Nooksack River, the key water source for Bellingham and most of Whatcom County. It is also a cornerstone of our economy. Residents, businesses and agriculture have been displaced, incomes damaged and solutions that mitigate and prevent future damage are complex. Does dredging work? How does what we do impact British Columbia? What are the costs and logistics for relocation?
Where do we go from here?
Three expert panelists will share their perspectives:
- Paula Harris, County Flood Mitigation Planner
- John Perry, City of Everson Mayor
- Eric Grossman, Research Geologist, Western Washington University
Paula Harris is a Civil Engineer with close to 40 yrs of professional experience, with 26 of that occurring at Whatcom County Public Works. She was the manager of the River and Flood Division for most of that time but recently took a new position as Flood Planning and Mitigation Manager so she can focus the time she has left at the County on solving the Nooksack River flood problems.
John Perry has been the Mayor of Everson since 2010. He has worked on issues related to flooding from installing sandbags to leading the conversation regarding mitigation and the future of a community historically impacted by the Nooksack River.
Dr. Eric Grossman is a coastal and marine geologist with the U. S. Geological Survey who conducts research on coastal processes, hazards, and ecosystems. His recent research has been focused on numerical modeling of coastal flooding and sediment transport, including how higher sea level and runoff associated with more intense rainfall are anticipated to affect people, communities, infrastructure and ecosystem services people depend on. Eric and his team has conducted this research around the world and along the Nooksack, Skagit, Stillaguamish, Snohomish, Nisqually and Skokomish Rivers and Puget Sound marine shorelines. Dr. Grossman earned his Masters Degree and PhD in Geology and Geophysics from the University of Hawaii and is currently a research geologist at WWU.