17-046 - Corps sends flood-fight team to support Ada County

Published April 4, 2017

ADA COUNTY, Idaho – – A four-member U.S. Army Corps of Engineers emergency management flood-fight team from the Walla Walla District deployed to Boise, Idaho, today, to provide direct assistance to Ada County’s flood response operations along the Boise River. 

Last week, the Corps provided technical experts to assess potential consequences of river water seeping through the shoreline into an adjacent gravel-mining pits located along the Boise River near Eagle Island. They observed sinkholes with corresponding flowing water in the gravel pit, as well as bank sloughing occurring along two of the pits, indicating bank instability, which could lead to a “pit capture,” if the riverbank failed. A pit capture could reroute a significant portion of the current river flow in an unknown direction along the south channel around Eagle Island, potentially putting lives, property and infrastructure at risk, including the Boise wastewater treatment plant and road access.

Following the Corps’ technical assessment, Ada County Emergency Management officials requested direct assistance from the Corps to construct a temporary levee between the river and the gravel pits most at risk of “pit capture.” 

The flood-fight team includes Team Leader Yvonne Gibbons, a civil engineer at the District Headquarters in Walla Walla, Washington (hometown = Walla Walla, Washington); along with trained flood-fight specialists Beth Dailey, a contract performance specialist at the Tri-Rivers Natural Resources Management Office near Burbank, Washington, (hometown = Kennewick, Washington); Nathan Pierson, a civil engineer at the district’s Boise Office (hometown = Meridian, Idaho); and Josh Preston, a maintenance worker at Lucky Peak Dam and Lake, just east of Boise  (hometown = Boise, Idaho). 

During March, Corps and Bureau of Reclamation hydrologists managed the Boise River system with about 350-percent of normal inflows into the reservoirs at Lucky Peak, Arrowrock and Anderson Ranch dams. More than 2 million acre-feet of water is currently stored in the snowpack covering the 2,680-square-mile watershed surrounding the three reservoirs upstream of Boise. The reservoirs together currently have about 320,000 acre-feet of available space for inflows. That means Corps and Bureau of Reclamation reservoir managers will need to continue passing high flows now, to prepare for future snowmelt volume. Treasure Valley residents can expect high flows into June and possibly beyond. Officials advise the public to be aware of the dangers associated with increased Boise River flows. The water is deep, cold and fast, so extreme caution should be used near the river banks.

Residents of flood-prone areas in and near Ada County are encouraged to keep informed of changing river, stream and weather conditions on the National Weather Service - Boise Office website at http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/boi/ – which offers flow data, weather forecasts and flood alerts. Follow flood-response instructions issued by your local emergency management agency http://www.adacounty.id.gov/flood, and tune-in to local radio and television news stations. Ada County residents can sign up for CodeRED emergency alerts at https://public.coderedweb.com/cne/en-US/BF01DC4DD213, or download the CodeRED mobile app from your mobile device’s app store. 

The Corps’ Walla Walla District continues to coordinate with state and local emergency management agencies. 

Idaho Bureau of Homeland Security http://www.bhs.idaho.gov encourages Idaho residents to be prepared to respond to localized flooding. Individuals are encouraged to contact local emergency management agencies to ensure they understand how to receive updates and information specific to their location. Most county emergency management departments in Idaho have flood-preparedness information on their websites. Idaho Bureau of Homeland Security has an alert system that, based on zip code, will send alerts to whatever device residents choose – sign up at https://mystateusa.com/default.aspx?region=670.

Corps water management officials continue coordinating with other federal and non-federal dam managers throughout the greater-Columbia River basin to make adjustments in river system operations that will best accommodate the increased run-off inflows. Reservoirs are being drafted ahead of anticipated heavy spring runoff.  The Corps works closely with other agencies and local government entities to notify the public as early as possible when significant changes to flows are necessary.

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The Corps is authorized to work with states, counties and other public entities to provide necessary resources and information.  The Corps does not have authority to provide disaster assistance directly to individuals.  The organization will continue to carefully watch the evolving situation and respond, when requested, with whatever assistance is authorized, appropriate and available.

The first responsibility for protecting homes and property from flood damage rests with the individual. Local governments and agencies, such as flood control districts, may share in this responsibility, and together form a community's first line of defense in preventing flood damages.

Occasionally, however, local resources are not able to control or contain a flood emergency situation. The Corps’ flood disaster assistance program is intended to supplement and assist local governments, institutions and special-purpose districts when more help is needed.

The Walla Walla District is prepared to assist states and municipalities with flood-management support, if requested, said Jeff Stidham, Walla Walla District disaster response manager. That assistance could include technical expertise, supplies and materials, equipment or contracts for emergency flood-fighting work. 

“We're watching rivers and streams throughout the Walla Walla District and staying in touch with local emergency officials so, if requested to, we can plan, prepare or act,” said Stidham. “Our top priority is the public’s safety, so we’re encouraging folks in low-lying parts of flood-prone areas stay tuned to information and advisories provided by the National Weather Service or their local emergency-service agencies and be ready to take action according to local flood response plans.”

State, tribal, and county agencies needing disaster assistance from the Corps should contact the Walla Walla District Emergency Management Office at 509-527-7146, or 509-380-4538.

For more information about Emergency Management Assistance, check out the District’s Web site at http://www.nww.usace.army.mil/Missions/Flood-Assistance/.

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Contact
CENWW-PA
509-527-7020
CENWW-PA@USACE.ARMY.MIL

Release no. 17-046