Flooded northwest river basins took a bump today as rains entered the region but cooler temperatures helped in the floodfight.
More than 17 team members from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District, are continuing work to assist local governments with flood fighting activities on five river basins in Washington, Idaho and Montana.
Trained flood engineers, environmental scientists and specialists are working in the Pend Oreille, St. Joe, and Coeur d’Alene river basins in Idaho, Kootenai River Basin in Montana, and the Yakima / Naches basin in Washington.
The Corps began work today with bank erosion on the Yakima and Naches rivers and with levee erosion at Lightning Creek and road protection near the Lower Clark Fork in Idaho. A Corps team finished up work today on a sewer line protection project in Osburn, Idaho, and work to protect the City of Yakima’s water treatment facility on the Naches River. The Corps has provided 20,000 sandbags to the town of St. Maries, Idaho, and 25,000 sandbags to Kootenai County in Idaho for use around Lake Coeur d’Alene.
The Corps activated its Emergency Operations Center May 15. Public Law 84-99 enables the Corps to assist state and local authorities in flood fight activities and cost share in the repair of flood protection structures.
The Seattle District Reservoir Control Center is also monitoring river conditions. The Reservoir Control Center manages and regulates Mud Mountain and Howard Hanson dams, both located near Enumclaw, Wash. Flows are decreasing at Howard Hanson Dam which is passing inflows and is releasing about 4,400 cubic feet per second. At Mud Mountain Dam, the Corps is currently releasing about 6,400 cubic feet per second and flows are expected to decrease slowly. At this time, no major flooding is expected in western Washington, where many rivers are expected to run high with snowmelt flows over at least the next few days. River users are reminded that levels can change quickly and temperatures from the melting snowpack is cold.
The Corps' Northwestern Division Reservoir Control Center in Portland, Oregon oversees operations at Chief Joseph Dam near Brewster, Wash., Albeni Falls Dam near Newport, Wash., and Libby Dam in Montana.
For more information on the Corps, and up-to-date river forecasts, go to
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