Rivers Hold Steady Below Flood Stage Workers Hurry To Strengthen Levees Before Melting Increases

A lull in rising waters will give disaster workers a chance to bolster levees in St. Maries this weekend.

Lake Coeur d’Alene and the St. Joe and Coeur d’Alene rivers were holding steady below flood stage Thursday, and flood forecasters said they don’t expect them to rise until next week.

Although it snowed in the Coeur d’Alene area Thursday morning, warmer temperatures are predicted for the weekend, hastening the melting of mountain snow.

But the region won’t see increased runoff from the melting snow until early next week, said Brian Avery of the National Weather Service.

State Highway 3 north of St. Maries soon will become a one-way route through town after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completes emergency work on two miles of the road, which is located atop the Meadowhurst levee.

The highway will be closed this weekend as the corps raises the road 1 to 2 feet.

Traffic will be detoured onto Meadowhurst Road and will be guided by a pilot car. After the levee is raised, Highway 3 will be only one lane wide.

The highway and detour route will serve as one-way roadways until the threat of flooding has passed, according to the Idaho Department of Transportation.

The corps also is raising the Riverdale and Cherry Creek levees.

A five-member Army corps “flood fight team” has been in St. Maries since April 21 to help coordinate flood response and evaluate the dikes.

The corps is covering the cost of the emergency flood work, said spokeswoman Gerry Arbios.

In Kootenai County, little flooding was reported Thursday on lakes, rivers and streams.

Some residents were sandbagging along a stream flowing into Twin Lakes, and a few residents were putting up sandbags at Hayden Lake.

Residents of Harbor Island were still dry, and the Spokane River was dropping slowly. But the road around Hauser Lake still is closed in places, and snow fell Thursday morning.

The threat of flooding is likely to continue well into June. The snowpack in the Panhandle is still 150 percent to 160 percent above normal.

“Anything above 5,000 feet (is) just a few percent melted,” said Steve Silkworth, Washington Water Power Co. engineer. “There’s still a lot of snow up there. It’s a big year.”

, DataTimes