The Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers advise people to be careful near the Boise River as flow continues to increase now through Friday and that could mean flooding in some areas along the Boise River, especially as flow increases these coming weeks.  More flow increases are possible over the weekend, depending on weather conditions.

National Weather Service
National Weather Service
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Beginning Wednesday, April 6, flow will increase from 1,800 cubic-feet-per-second at the Glenwood Bridge to about 4,600 cfs by Friday, April 8.

These flows are increasing due to above-average snowpack and winter precipitation in the watershed, and will help reduce the risk of flooding later in the spring, which can happen with rapidly melting snow and rain. The water is cold, deep, and fast; use caution near the river banks.

Reclamation coordinates Boise River operations with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers who manage and operate Lucky Peak Dam. A full supply of irrigation water is anticipated this summer.

It’s been a few years since we’ve seen any serious flooding here in Boise, but with a lot of snow in the Mountains this year all it takes is a few weeks of really warm weather really fast and we could once again see above averages of water having to be released from Lucky Peak and once again see areas flooded in the Treasure Valley

I’ve seen historical pictures from 60 or 70 years ago in the Eagle area showing the Boise River running about a half mile wide in some places.

The National Weather service has just released new maps to show people how various stages of flooding would affect people in the Boise area.

The interactive maps show the impact from The Diversion Dam all the way to the Can-Ada line. It provides an in depth view of what flooding would look like at 15 different stages of flooding of the Boise River

The maps are not meant to cause panic or to scare anybody, but the National Weather Service said that it’s important for people to know ahead of time what flooding might look like and how it would affect them in the eventual case of major flooding.

It’s also a valuable tool to view in case you might be wanting to purchase a house in a potential flood area.  Flood insurance might be a good idea for some people.

 

If you want to take a view of the latest flood maps from the National Weather Service click on the link below

 

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