Army Corps flood teams are deployed to the St. Joe River, Coeur d' Alene River and Kootenai River basins today. A flood team is stabilizing the federal levee and the Shepherd Road levee in the City of St. Maries, Idaho, and awarded contracts for staging material at the Callahan Creek levee in Troy, Montana.
The Corps is placing material on levees along the St. Joe River in support of the City of St. Maries to address flood damages along approximately 300 feet of the federal levee and about 50 feet of the Shepherd Road levee. Based on the current forecast and conditions, work is expected to conclude on the Shepherd Road levee today and continue for a couple more days on the federal levee.
The Kootenai basin team is working with the county to provide assistance at Callahan Creek in Troy, Montana, where they are staging rock that could be used, if necessary, for a temporary emergency repair to the damaged levee in Troy. A team is conducting sandbag training for communities in the Coeur d’Alene basin at the request of Kootenai County.
The Corps has also supplied two pumps to Kootenai County and distributed 5,000 sandbags to the City of Ellensburg, Washington, 30,000 to Kootenai County and 5,000 to the City of St. Maries.
Flood team members will be in the areas of concern to provide assistance as requested and monitor conditions until the major flood threat has passed.
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 purpose is to prevent loss of life and minimize property damage associated with severe weather.
Private citizens seeking sandbags should contact their local government offices.
The National Weather Service issues flood watches and warnings and should be consulted for that information.
Release no. 17-014