KENNEWICK — It’s T-minus 30 days until the unlimited hydroplanes pull into town for the 2018 Tri-Cities Water Follies and Columbia Cup.
With the clock ticking, the city of Kennewick and event managers are scrambling to launch the temporary docks that support the most popular jet-propelled event of the summer.
Launching the docks is normally a routine element of event prep. But not this year.
This spring’s flooding on the Columbia River badly eroded sections of the shoreline at the Neil F. Lampson pits at the east end of Columbia Park, damaging the points where the docks connect to shore.
The high water undercut the road through the pit area, scouring away soil and weakening the connection points.
The Grand Prix World class of hydroplanes use a dock that connects to a pair of concrete pads, both left hanging with almost no support.
The unlimited hydroplanes use a separate dock that connects to a nearby bulkhead. It too shows signs of erosion, though not as serious as the pads.
Shoring up the concrete pads looks like a simple matter of packing in dirt and gravel.
However, the city leases the park from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which must sign off on all work following federal review procedures.
It is unclear whether 30 days left before the boats arrive is enough time to jump through all the hoops.
Water Follies Director Cathy Powell said if the problem can’t be fixed, organizers will have to secure an alternative docking system that doesn’t rely on the connection points — at a significant cost.
The city has hired an environmental engineer to complete the permit application to the Corps. It is optimistic it will work out a solution, said spokeswoman Evelyn Lusignan, who assured that Water Follies will proceed.
“The Corps is working really well with us so we can take care of that,” she said.
A spokeswoman in the Army Corp’s regulatory offices in Seattle said it is waiting for the application.
Even if the shore-up is eligible for the Corp’s expedited nationwide permit process, work in Columbia Park remains subject to the Endanger Species Act and cultural resource consideration, she said.
The nationwide permit program is for short-term projects that have only minimal impact on the environment.
The situation highlights why local officials are lobbying Congress to re-convey ownership of 34 miles of Tri-City shoreline back to local jurisdictions.
Kennewick, Richland and Pasco collectively spend $2 million annually to maintain their shorelines but have a difficult time securing Army Corps approval for routine projects.
The re-conveyance effort is widely supported but with some notable opposition from individuals and groups concerned it will lead to reduced access to the water front and could harm tribal interests.
The Congressional Budget Office flagged it for additional review this spring, which prevented it from being included in the most recent National Defense Authorization Act.
Water Follies organizers are reluctant to fault the Army Corps for the situation, noting it is an excellent partner.
The agency uses the river to cleanse the local shoreline in advance of the event by raising and lowering water levels. During Water Follies, it maintains a constant surface level to ensure race buoys stay put.
The Columbia River approached minor flooding levels in May as melting snow in Canada combined with spring rains to raise local water levels, leaving some areas underwater.
At Columbia Park, the water reached the top of the bank but didn’t spill over in the Lampson pits.
The result was erosion to the shoreline, as well as under the former road that runs along the shore in the park’s eastern stretch.
The paved stretch provides an important hard surface for boat-related activities during Water Follies.
The mobile cranes that lift hydroplanes in and out of the river rest there. Early-bird race fans set up tents along the river’s edge, as do vendors.
There are no plans to erect a barrier to keep people off the crumbling edge, but the city plans to stencil warnings about the shoreline erosion in advance of Water Follies.
The 2018 Tri-City Water Follies gets an early start on July 14 with the Miss Tri-Cities Scholarship Pageant at Kennewick High School.
Boat-related action begins July 25, when hydroplanes will be displayed from 4 to 6 p.m. at Columbia Center mall.
The action shifts to Columbia Park July 27-29, with three days of boat racing and a myriad of related activities, including the HAPO Over the River Air Show and vintage hydroplane exhibitions.
