Worland Gets Advice from Army Corps on Flooding

Officials in Worland met last week with representatives from the Army Corps of Engineers to review potential solutions to the ice jam problems that continue to plague the community.

On Tuesday morning, local officials and county commissioners met at the office of Homeland Security Director Jeff Schweighart, briefing Mike Happold and Tom Johnson of the Army Corps regarding the extent of this year’s flooding.

The meeting was in response to Washakie County Commissioner Terry Wolf’s appearance before the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. At the committee oversight hearing in February, Wolf outlined recent flooding issues that stem from a sedimentary bar in the Big Horn River that causes frequent ice jams. He told the committee that state and local costs will likely exceed $150,000, and asked the committee to consider using the Army Corp of Engineers to help Worland remove the sediment.

According to an article in the Northern Wyoming Daily News, on Tuesday, after a discussion of federal programs available, Tom Johnson with the Army Corps recommended that as long as the bank was not altered, the county could dig out the sediment and transfer it to trucks, for further county use, utilizing existing federal regulations and permits. In all, the Army Corps would not need to be involved.

After the meeting, Chairman Wolf concluded that the city and county could reach a plan, and hopefully begin clearing the river after irrigation season, when the water level was at the lowest.