Highest Flows In 70 Years Scour Clogged Snake River

Record flows in the Snake River probably are washing away wads of aquatic plants and scouring the riverbed of loose sediment, a water-quality expert says.

“There’s going to be some cleanup of the system,” said Balthasar “Sonny” Buhidar, senior water quality analyst with the Idaho Division of Environmental Quality. “When the water level falls - and it will - we’ll go in and see what’s left.”

The highest flows in more than 70 years have been roaring down the Middle Snake River for the past couple of weeks. The huge flows have caused heartaches for some riverside residents, but they also have kindled some hope for people charged with reducing pollution in the river.

Short-term changes, such as removal of nuisance plants, will be easy to detect when high waters recede. Water-quality experts will tour the river with maps of former plant colonies, “and it won’t take a rocket scientist to see if the beds are gone,” he said.

Flows of up to 40 mph undoubtedly have scoured the system, but Buhidar and others will not be able to calculate the change until flows taper off later this summer.