Dam flooding raises fiscal questions

Last week’s widespread flooding didn’t cause any structural damage to the under-construction Flower Creek Dam, but damage to the surrounding landscape will require significant clean-up, the cost for which has become a topic of concern for city officials.

“Structurally, there was no damage,” said Libby City Administrator Jim Hammons. “But there’s going to be a heck of a lot of clean-up.”

Water flooded the upper reservoir and washed out massive amounts of fill around the southeast side of the dam, Hammons said, but a full evaluation of the extent of the damage was not available as of press time Monday.

The flooding, Hammons estimated “as a guess,” could delay completion of the dam by four to six weeks. The completion had previously been estimated for mid- to late-January 2016, but Hammons estimated the delay could push completion off to as late as March.

Hammons said the engineer, the contractor and the city are working together to find a solution to the problem, without trying to place blame or engage in a great deal of finger-pointing. He said the contractor, Johnson-Wilson Constructors, is currently working with their insurance carrier to determine what, if any, part of the damage is covered. The rain event, he said, was something nobody anticipated.

“It was a large event,” he said. “There’s no doubt about that. A lot of people have told me it was the most water they’d seen in Flower Creek in a long time, maybe ever.”

Hammons said the city would not file a claim with their insurance carrier, Montana Municipal Interlocal Authority, because the city’s deductible is “just too high.” He said he is exploring a number of emergency grant programs to help cover the cost. 

“We’re looking at the possibility of Federal Emergency Management Agency money and other emergency grants,” he said. “Loans would fall to the city rate payers to repay.”