Water world

By HEIDI GAISER

Growth in flood plains will challenge responders when next flood hits

The Daily Inter Lake

Floods are among the more stealthy of natural disasters.

Excessive rain is an obvious signal that water might soon start flowing where it's not wanted, but there are many subtle causes - an extra-warm spring day in the mountains; asphalt covering ground that used to soak up excess water; wildfires that break down the natural dam a stand of trees provides; or sometimes, just one homeowner's clogged driveway culvert and a night of hard rain.

Though extended torrential rains and near-record mountain snowpack led to the unforgettable flood of 1964, the landscape of the Flathead Valley has changed so dramatically since then that it's anyone's guess what will send water surging unchecked across the valley floor again.

"We were lucky last year," said Mark Peck, director of the county's Office of Emergency Services. "Just one weather event away. We had a good amount of rain and moisture going, with rapid runoff. Our snowpack was not above average, but our rain was above average and it was warm."

Tracy Sears-Tull, a planner with the Flathead County Planning and Zoning Office, said it could happen at any point.

"It's not a matter of if, but when it will happen," Sears-Tull said.

THE FLOODS in early June of 1964 covered 20,000 acres across the Flathead Valley, with several hundred homes flooded. The Flathead River at Columbia Falls crested at 26.5 feet, more than 12 feet above flood stage; areas up to a mile from the river were under four feet of water.

Though not all are necessarily developed, there are now about 6,000 parcels of land located within the special flood hazard area, also known as the 100-year flood plain. There are thousands more in the 500-year flood plain, a designation based on elevation. Sears-Tull said that decades of development have left many more buildings under increased threat as topsoil is moved around and the ground level lowered.

"There may be an inch difference between the 100 and 500," Sears-Tull said. "Mother Nature isn't going to stop because you're in the 500-year flood area."

The flood plain also shifts with development, as buildings act as a dam for water or change its course. The extra debris that accompanies development presents another flooding hazard.

Evergreen, one of the hardest-hit areas in the 1964 flood, worries those in the disaster business. Private residences in the area were markedly fewer 40 years ago; Wal-Mart, Applebee's, Kmart and countless other businesses along U.S. 2 didn't exist.

"If we look at the 1964 flood, all of that would be inundated," Peck said about the U.S. 2 strip. "There would be two or three feet of water in there."

The Army Corps of Engineers has shown special concern for the Evergreen area in the last few decades, Sears-Tull said, and at one time even submitted a plan, rejected by the county, for a special levee district in Evergreen.

"They're concerned with all of the development that has taken place, with the additional amount of impervious surface - driveways, asphalt, structures," Sears-Tull said.

Today, the flood plain is generally considered to be the majority of Evergreen, the lower Flathead Valley and areas along rivers or ringing the valley's lakes.

Sears-Tull said another area of concern for the planning office is the Swan Range community to the east of Kalispell, which includes Echo Lake. It is a closed basin and the water is currently at capacity or close to it, Sears-Tull said.

"There's no real outlet for water there and in the last seven to eight years, there's been substantial construction," she said. "People want to congregate as close as possible to the water. Quite a few houses have been built in flood-susceptible areas."

Also in the east valley, the small tributaries flowing from the mountains, such as those located off Foothill Road, can become roaring rivers "real quick," Sears-Tull said. "Flash floods can knock a house off of its foundations."

Family transfers and boundary-line adjustments, which aren't subject to review, have increased potential for widespread flood damage, she said. With no oversight, homes can be constructed with basements in flood-prone areas, or structures or roads may be built on land that is best left undeveloped.

POORLY PLANNED and built roads plagued former County Road Superintendent Charlie Johnson for years. His department receives yearly calls to "fix" situations that rural homeowners have caused by building driveways across areas prone to excess runoff or with inadequate drainage.

His department literally was swamped in 1996. Creeks were flowing over Truman Creek Road and Browns Meadow Road, cutting off access to homes; steep driveways dumped water onto county roads; Happy Valley roads practically disappeared under water. An estimated $2.4 million in damage was seen that year.

Though not as extensive, in the spring of 1997 crews were still out in force, doing things such as filling a flooded stretch of Middle Road to maintain access for some homeowners. Some homes along Montana 206 were surrounded by water, but Johnson said that the county road department couldn't help everyone.

"People expected us to do something with that water," Johnson said. "We can't channel it, because then we're susceptible to liability. They thought we should sandbag their homes, but we can't sandbag individual homes. People were frustrated."

Though these are examples of isolated incidents of flooding, that doesn't make them any less disastrous to the homeowner. They also still tax emergency-service departments, sometimes to the limit.

So how an event of the proportions of the 1964 floods will be handled is a big concern for local disaster relief agencies.

EVACUATION IS the first concern with floods. The county road department plays an enormous role in that, keeping roads open for escape routes. In 1964, people were unprepared for the scope of the flooding, especially in West Glacier and Columbia Falls. Rescuers used boats to evacuate people stranded on rooftops.

Johnson said the road department's work in keeping escape routes open will be the first line of defense. Evacuation authority will be coordinated within the sheriff's office, fire departments and the road department.

To keep things running smoothly, this is one time when respect for authority is crucial, Peck said.

"Follow directions, do what you're told," Peck said. "Don't try to circumvent roadblocks and go around them. Also know the routes, know where low water areas are."

Personal evacuation plans are crucial. Decide where to meet if the family is separated. Figure out what possessions to take or move to upper floors.

If the animals can't be taken along, open corral gates and barn doors. They often can make it to higher ground when left to their own devices.

No matter how ideally evacuations take place, once flood waters recede, there will be a mess.

Sears-Tull has been studying the effects of other flood disasters, such as the recent floods in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, for cues. She has become extensively involved with the flood-plain community, talking with experts at the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

She has been learning as much as possible about the National Flood Insurance Program, to ensure that homeowners in the special flood hazard areas are up to date on what they need to submit for insurance documentation.

"We are allocating more time as an office to the flood-plain program after some national disasters that have happened," Sears-Tull said. "Insurance companies are getting more skeptical and want more documentation and more restrictions placed in these special flood hazard areas."

The planning department is hosting its first Flood Awareness Week from April 9-13, with workshops led by the Army Corps of Engineers, the Office of Emergency Services, the road department, surveying, engineering, real-estate and insurance companies. The list of those expected to be involved, though, is much longer.

But no matter how many official entities get involved, safety and the security of possessions is still a matter of personal responsibility for those who choose to live in the flood plain and sometimes, for others who thought they were well removed from water, Peck said.

"The bottom line is, in these big events, there's not an agency in the world that can make it a good day," Peck said. "The more they take responsibility, the better off they will be and the more effective we can be as rescuers."

Reporter Heidi Gaiser may be reached at 758-4431 or e-mail hgaiser@dailyinterlake.com