Local residents warned to continue watching water levels

Local residents warned to continue watching water levels

Tim Leeds

The flooding situation is virtually unchanged for local flood watchers since last week, with the Hill County Disaster and Emergency Service Coordinator urging residents to continue to keep a watchful eye on water levels.

"As long as (the runoff is) not too fast we'll be in good shape, " Joe Parenteau said this morning, adding that people still need to be watchful.

"We're still just in a holding pattern, waiting for the temperature to do what it will do, " he added.

Parenteau said the cooler weather the last few days should allow the water that came last week from melting snow to pass through the system, lowering the levels of creeks and streams.

Blaine County Commissioner Vic Miller said this morning that the main problem is that county employees have been waiting for the wind to die down so they can get to work removing new and blown snow from roads in the northern part of the county.

"Everything we have done in the last six weeks has been negated, " Miller said.

He said flooding does not appear to be a concern until warmer weather hits later this week.

The region has been preparing for the worst for the last month, in case a surge in temperature quickly melts snow with an extremely high level of water in northern Hill and Blaine counties and in the Bear's Paw Mountains.

High temperatures — or rain on the snow — could lead to a surge in water levels and flooding. The National Weather Service has more snow and some rain in the forecast, with lows remaining in the 20s and low 30s through Friday, and highs reaching near 50 on Thursday. The concerns come less than a year after moderate flooding in the Bear's Paws last spring, followed by a severe rainstorm in June, led to the president declaring a federal disaster for Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation.

This year's concern is over the potential for rapidly rising levels in creeks, streams and the Milk River as snow melts with soil, already with high levels of moisture, unable to absorb much of the runoff.

Parenteau said the levels of the reservoir on Beaver Creek south of town and Fresno Reservoir on the Milk River, west of Havre, will help catch some of the runoff.

U. S. Bureau of Reclamation officials told him the bureau, which administers Fresno, had reduced the level of water released to allow the level of the Milk below the dam to drop as well, Parenteau added.

The storage level of the reservoir was listed Sunday on the BOR website at 92 percent full. The reservoir has additional flood-control capacity above its storage level.

Parenteau said the overall picture has not changed — little or no snow melted off in the Bear's Paws or the northern part of Hill County, leaving the residents and officials still waiting to see how fast the snowcover melts.

People with reports of rising levels of water could call DES at 265-5481, ext. 283, or the sheriff's office at 265-2512 in Hill County; or 357-3310 for DES or 357-3260 for the sheriff in Blaine County.

People facing an emergency flooding situations can call 911.

The flooding situation is virtually unchanged for local flood watchers since last week, with the Hill County Disaster and Emergency Service Coordinator urging residents to continue to keep a watchful eye on water levels.

"As long as (the runoff is) not too fast we'll be in good shape, " Joe Parenteau said this morning, adding that people still need to be watchful.

"We're still just in a holding pattern, waiting for the temperature to do what it will do, " he added.

Parenteau said the cooler weather the last few days should allow the water that came last week from melting snow to pass through the system, lowering the levels of creeks and streams.

Blaine County Commissioner Vic Miller said this morning that the main problem is that county employees have been waiting for the wind to die down so they can get to work removing new and blown snow from roads in the northern part of the county.

"Everything we have done in the last six weeks has been negated, " Miller said.

He said flooding does not appear to be a concern until warmer weather hits later this week.

The region has been preparing for the worst for the last month, in case a surge in temperature quickly melts snow with an extremely high level of water in northern Hill and Blaine counties and in the Bear's Paw Mountains.

High temperatures — or rain on the snow — could lead to a surge in water levels and flooding. The National Weather Service has more snow and some rain in the forecast, with lows remaining in the 20s and low 30s through Friday, and highs reaching near 50 on Thursday. The concerns come less than a year after moderate flooding in the Bear's Paws last spring, followed by a severe rainstorm in June, led to the president declaring a federal disaster for Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation.

This year's concern is over the potential for rapidly rising levels in creeks, streams and the Milk River as snow melts with soil, already with high levels of moisture, unable to absorb much of the runoff.

Parenteau said the levels of the reservoir on Beaver Creek south of town and Fresno Reservoir on the Milk River, west of Havre, will help catch some of the runoff.

U. S. Bureau of Reclamation officials told him the bureau, which administers Fresno, had reduced the level of water released to allow the level of the Milk below the dam to drop as well, Parenteau added.

The storage level of the reservoir was listed Sunday on the BOR website at 92 percent full. The reservoir has additional flood-control capacity above its storage level.

Parenteau said the overall picture has not changed — little or no snow melted off in the Bear's Paws or the northern part of Hill County, leaving the residents and officials still waiting to see how fast the snowcover melts.

People with reports of rising levels of water could call DES at 265-5481, ext. 283, or the sheriff's office at 265-2512 in Hill County; or 357-3310 for DES or 357-3260 for the sheriff in Blaine County.

People facing an emergency flooding situations can call 911.