Project Forces Water Shut-Off

Work on the Milo Creek flood control project will cause a temporary water shut-off to residents and businesses in Kellogg and Smelterville next Thursday night.

Project managers say service will be shut off from 9 p.m. Thursday until 6 a.m. Friday. Crews installing four large pipes to drain floodwaters into the South Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River have to relocate a water main. Workers have to shut off water to lower the main. The Shoshone Medical Center is also affected. Notification to the hospital and other affected parties will start Monday.

“It’s a lot less disruptive if we do it at night,” said project manager Glenn Jackson.

If water is cloudy or contains fine debris after service is restored, the Central Shoshone County Water District recommends flushing the system through an outside tap. The project is part of a two-year effort to control spring runoff and prevent mine waste from recontaminating yards along the creek. Flooding in 1997 blew out the aging channels below Wardner and Kellogg.