Get ready for roaring Moyie River waters

Expect a raging Moyie River this spring.

Not only does the National Weather Service say it is 90 percent likely that the Moyie River will exceed flood stage, there is a possibility flows will exceed a record set in 1916.

“It looks like it is going to be a bad year,” Boundary County emergency management incident commander Bob Graham said during Monday’s Boundary County commissioners meeting.

Graham warned Boundary County Commissioners about the potential for flooding, adding that measures have been put into place to minimize potential damage.

 Katherine Rowden, service hydrologist for the National Weather Service (NWS) in Spokane, asked the NWS river forecast center to also run a peak flow forecast for the Moyie River at Eastport because of expected high flows in the Kootenai basin.

Rowden said the more interesting news is that the model suggested a 50 percent chance that the flows will exceed 11,600 cubic feet per second, which is more than the greatest cfs on record since the year 1916 which was 10,600 cfs.

“We are going to make sandbags and have  sand available to residents in these areas,” Graham said.

The county sent out letters to property owners warning of potential flooding earlier this year.

Residents in these areas are encouraged to contact local emergency managers and work with them to determine the best path to prepare for potential flooding.

n The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will hold a meeting regarding 2011 Libby Dam operations at 7 p.m., Monday May 9,  at Kootenai River Inn in Bonners Ferry.