County keeps eye on flood potential

With snowpack levels in some area drainages well above normal, county officials are checking daily on the possibility of flooding and are monitoring river flows.

That was the word from Cindy Mullaney, deputy director of the Flathead County Office of Emergency Services, to the county commissioners last week.

She has spoken with officials from the Corps of Engineers who have offered the county free sandbags and offered to evaluate the county for potential flood areas.

“Flooding potential is increasing,” Mullaney said. The National Weather Service estimates a 67 percent chance of flooding in Northwest Montana.

The Weather Service announced Monday that later this week it will conduct snow surveys at lower-elevation sites in Northwest Montana to determine flood potential.

Mullaney plans to schedule a meeting with local law enforcement officials to discuss emergency evacuation plans and procedures in the event of flooding.

County officials agreed to accept the sandbags from the corps.

On a separate issue, the commissioners agreed that the county would sponsor two grant requests on behalf on the Green Acres Court for emergency sewer repairs.

Each grant request will be for $20,000, one from the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and the other from the Treasure State Endowment Program.

The grants require sponsorship by a government entity, Flathead County Grant Writer Debbie Pierson told commissioners.

The homeowners will also use $14,600 in community development block grant funds and $33,491 from the replacement fund which they pay into monthly to fund the balance of the project costs, Pierson said.

The septic system in the trailer park “failed sooner than they expected,” she said.

Andy Hyde of Carver Engineering said six septic tanks will be replaced in this phase of work. Although the trailer park is not inside Kalispell city limits, it is within acceptable distance that the units can be connected to the city sewer lines.

The plan is to install a public sewer main and individual service lines to collect from six septic tanks now. Additional sewer lines will be installed later when money becomes available, Hyde said.

“Residents were warned that the septics were failing,” Hyde said, when they formed a cooperative and bought the court last August, the first such venture in Montana after the Legislature approved a new law.

The county won’t oversee the project or spend money on the project, Pierson said.

The only county involvement will be some staff time to distribute the grant money, she said.

Reporter Shelley Ridenour may be reached at 758-4439 or by e-mail at sridenour@dailyinterlake.com.