Graham: County flooding far from over

 Emergency Incident commander Bob Graham says residents need to prepare for more flooding problems in the weeks ahead.

“The one thing that is pertinent and many people may not be aware of is that the snow pack increased considerably in the month of March,” Graham said.

 Last week’s heavy rains caused several problems in Boundary County and on Wednesday.

Graham said in what already was anticipated to be a problematic flooding season just got worse with March snow received above Libby Dam in Montana.

On April 5, the dam increased its flow into the Kootenai River from 20 kcfs to 25 kcfs, which he said Graham is the maximum amount of water which can be put through the generators as the dam’s operators prepare the pool for higher snow pack run off.

This will keep dam operators on track to accommodate the eventual runoff of last month's impressive snowfall, and position the reservoir for the possibility of continued late-season snow building.

“People are probably well aware of the problems last week, and we don’t see flooding starting again until next week as rain has been predicted for the next several days,” Graham said.

 Graham assures people that if problems begin that they will be taken care of as quickly as the county can get to them.

He also reminds people there are plenty of free sand bags located at the front fence of Boundary County Road and Bridge. The also can be picked up at the county landfill.

If a flooding-related problem arises that is out of your control, call the Boundary County Sheriff’s Office, 267-3151.

Short-term forecasts for Bonners Ferry can be found here:

http://www.nwrfc.noaa.gov/river/station/flowplot/flowplot.cgi?lid=BFEI1