Problems Emerging As Floodwaters Recede North Idaho Towns Beginning To Tally Costs Of Spring Flooding

Milo Creek is insisting on a new home.

The creek jumped out of its aging underground system of culverts and pipes two weeks ago and still is flowing through downtown streets.

Kellogg and Wardner officials want to install new culverts, but at a cost of at least $6 million, it’s more than these two Silver Valley towns can afford.

The damage and inconvenience the creek has caused this spring finally may draw the attention of state and federal agencies with the money to get the job done.

“The water’s going to stay over the street until we have some other place to put it,” said Kellogg councilwoman Billie Irwin. “We’re stuck with it.”

A team of federal and state disaster officials has been sent to Kellogg and a number of other North Idaho communities to evaluate the damage caused by spring runoff.

They’ll help decide whether the five northern counties will be declared federal disaster areas, making them eligible for federal disaster aid. Gov. Phil Batt asked for the federal aid to help North Idaho earlier this month.

“There’s a lot of damage,” said Pat Frischmuth of the state Bureau of Disaster Services. “Some of (the damage) is still underwater, and some of it’s yet to happen.”

While the snowpack remains above normal in the Panhandle, local officials believe the worst of the flooding is over. For the most part, rivers and lakes are continuing to recede, but flood warnings persist for Lake Pend Oreille, the Pend Oreille River, the St. Joe River and the Spokane River.

Here’s a rundown on flood damage in the Panhandle, according to the Bureau of Disaster Services and county officials:

Benewah County estimates damages in the $500,000 to $600,000 range. Most of that is agricultural damage. Other damage is to roads, parks and a few homes, said George Currier, civil defense director.

That doesn’t include the cost to fight the floodwaters, he said.

“You’re talking 8,000 truckloads of dirt being brought in” for berms, he said. “The county’s participation easily was $125,000. I was hauling sand up here for days and days.”

Bonner County has claimed about $398,000 in damage, primarily to roads.

Boundary County has estimated $850,352 in damages, but that doesn’t include damage done by March mudslides that closed several roads.

The county’s more recent problems were centered on the Moyie and Kootenai rivers. Levees near farms along the Kootenai River started sloughing off and eroding from high water and the elevated water table flooded several fields, said Bonners Ferry Police Chief Dave Kramer.

“We’re real thankful we have the (Libby) dam, otherwise I’m sure we’d have a lot more damage and more flooding,” Kramer said.

High waters along the Moyie River forced two families in Eastport on the Canadian border to evacuate and flooded some basements, he said. The city also spent about $25,000 to hire contractors to prevent a logjam from building up and damaging the Moyie dam and power plant.

Kootenai County’s problems mostly were around Lake Coeur d’Alene. Homes around the lake sustained more than $5 million in damage from flooding along the shoreline, said Bill Schwartz, disaster services director.

Eight businesses along the lake suffered about $400,000 in damage, and public property was hit with almost $1 million in damage.

Most of the damage to public property was roads, but public marine facilities also took a beating. Breakwaters at Harrison and Coeur d’Alene pulled away from their anchors. High water damaged approach ramps to docks. And nearly every shoreline is littered with debris.

“We’re still sorting out the damage,” said waterways supervisor Kurtis Robinson. A no-wake zone still is in force for the Spokane River, but not the county’s lakes.

Shoshone County has no comprehensive damage estimate, but Kellogg and Mullan were hardest hit. Mill Creek in Mullan is a $250,000 problem, said councilman Chuck Ritz.

“Second Street’s eaten up,” he said. “One house is pretty damaged. Culverts are completely eaten up and destroyed - six-inch thick, cement culverts.”

The town is hoping to receive hazard mitigation money from the last federal disaster to build an improved culvert system to keep Mill Creek off the streets.

, DataTimes