Priest Lake at emergency

Bonner County commissioners have declared an emergency at Priest Lake, saying urgent repairs are needed to fix a 250-foot breach in the breakwater before the spring runoff makes the situation worse.

“The water’s going to come up, the current is going to be stronger, and we’ll have a greater risk of losing the whole structure,” Commissioner Marcia Phillips said Friday.

Losing all or part of the breakwater could cause damage to private property, Phillips said. In addition, the channel connecting Priest and Upper Priest lakes eventually could fill in with sand if the problem isn’t fixed, she said.

Boaters use the channel, referred to as the Thorofare, to travel between the two lakes. Some environmental groups want to ban motorized boat traffic from the Thorofare and remove the breakwater.

By declaring an emergency, Phillips said, the county can hire a contractor to fix the breach without the time-consuming bid process typically required.

The fix proposed now is temporary, Phillips said. Plans call for shoring up the breakwater with additional timbers between pilings and building “veins” to catch the sand the current brings, instead of allowing it to wash out beneath the breakwater.

Phillips said the sand that’s caught should also help stabilize the breakwater.

Before the county can begin repairs, Phillips said, other agencies, including the Idaho Department of Lands, U.S. Forest Service and state Department of Fish and Game, must approve. Commissioners Karl Dye and Joe Young met with officials from those agencies, Phillips said, and a tentative agreement was reached.

The temporary repair is estimated to cost the county about $70,000.

A committee has been formed to find a permanent fix, Phillips said. She said its report is expected by the end of the year.