Could it be a "new normal"? Lynden-area dairy farmer and Whatcom County Flood Control Zone District Advisory Committee member Jeff DeJong says the recent flooding of the Nooksack River may have been worse than expected, possibly thanks to sediment buildup in parts of the river. While his dairy and other farms suffered only minor damage from what he says experts are calling a "5-year event," the flow of floodwaters into the City of Sumas was a bigger problem than in past floods of this size.