Kootenai River tamer this week; floods still possible
The Kootenai River water level is lower this week, however there is still a possibility of flooding.
The weather is a large factor as to how much water will be let through the Kootenai River basin and for how long, according to Libby Dam officials.
The river level looked less threatening Wednesday from what looked like last week when it nearly reached flood stage.
The level of the Kootenai River has went from 1,763.4 feet, to 1,757 feet of elevation as of Wednesday at noon.
Flood stage of the river is 1,764 feet and so far it has come close, but not reached that level. The river came 6/10 of a foot away from flood stage last week — its highest point.
The river has remained below flood stage as a result of the efforts of the Army Corps of Engineers at Libby Dam and weather cooperation.
The Libby Dam out flow is currently 17,000 cubic feet per second which is down 8,000 cfu from last week and will likely be held there until early next week.
According to the Army Corps of Engineers at Libby Dam, the Koocanusa reservoir is filling with about 2 feet of water per day.
“We typically see 8 million feet of run off for the season and we have only seen not quite half of that so far,” said Mick Shea, Libby Dam superintendent.
Bob Graham with Boundary County Emergency Management said the Army Corps of Engineers are doing a fantastic job up at Libby Dam.
Graham also said even though it appears that the Kootenai River is down damage continues on farmland due to seepage under crops as a result of the river being so high for so long.
Bonners Ferry agriculture starts to get damaged when the river reaches 1,758-feet of elevation.
Shea said they still expect a rise in levels as snows in the higher elevations start to melt as the weather becomes warmer.
The Idaho Bureau of Homeland Security has been working closely with local emergency managers as well as the National Weather Service and Army Corps of Engineers to prepare for the flooding.
Idaho has developed a flood preparedness booklet for citizens, which is available at http://www.bhs.idaho.gov/Pages/Preparedness/Hazards/PDF/Idaho%20Flood%20Booklet.pdf.