(NRCS), is working to develop a flood risk reduction plan for the North Fork Elkhorn River Watershed.
The watershed spans approximately 244,287 acres and includes the communities of Foster, Magnet, McLean, Osmond, Pierce, Plainview, and Wausa. The LENRD is aware of repeated flooding in this area, notably in and around Pierce and Osmond.
On Nov. 6, and 8, 2023, the Lower Elkhorn Resources District hosted its first round of public meetings at Os mond city auditorium and the Pierce County fairgrounds, respectively. Communities within the watershed study area were invited to share their feedback on flooding concerns as well as ideas for reducing the impacts of flooding
The LENRD hosted second-round meetings at Pierce and Osmond on June 25 and 26, respectively. The purpose of these second-round meetings was to outline the sources of flooding in Osmond and Pierce; share a comprehensive list of the alternatives, or potential projects, identified to reduce flood risk; and provide an overview of the alternatives evaluation process.
There were 49 people signed in to the meeting in Pierce, and 36 people at the meeting in Osmond.
The devastating flood in March of 2019 was considered the worst flood in Osmond’s history, surpassing even the floods of 1971, when a (then) history-making flood in February was followed by an equally devastating flood in June.
Monetary damages from the floods in 2019 around $1.5 million. After the 2019 flood, the LENRD was ap proached by Osmond and Pierce to see what they could do to evaluation options and provide some assistance to mitigate flooding for the future.
This project by the LENRD and NRCS is focused on identifying po- tential solutions to flooding within the North Fork Elkhorn River Watershed, with a focus on the communities of Osmond and Pierce. The project is needed because of the long history of flooding damages that have occurred throughout the watershed, impacting communities as well as agricultural areas.
The final product will be a Water shed Plan and Environmental Assessment (Plan-EA), which will document existing flooding, evaluate potential strategies for flood reduction, and outline a plan for future implementa- tion of projects identified in the plan.
Funding for this project is provided by the NRCS Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations (WFPO) program. As such, the planning process and resulting plan must meet NRCS requirements.
Once the plan is approved by NRCS and adopted by the LENRD, projects identified in the plan will be eligible for additional NRCS funding to complete design and construction. Planning efforts started in late August 2023 and are anticipated to be complete in early 2025.
According to the list of draft alternatives for Osmond, the ones still being considered include a 4th Street short levee/berm on the east side of Osmond, which could reduce flood extents in downtown almost completely. The estimated cost for this plan is $700,000.
A non-structural alternative would be building modifications or prop erty buyouts, however, this would be in conjunction with the structural alternative.
Other alternatives that were removed from consideration included a diversion channel with an estimated cost of $15 million; detention cell, $27 million; extensive levees/berms, $4-9 million; dam, $50 million; channel widening and clean-out, $7 million, and bridge/culvert replacement, $20 million. For most of these, they were screened out because the costs were more than anticipated benefits.
Project area stakeholders and the public will continue to be invited to provide input on the developing the plan at several project milestones.
Attendees at the recent meetings were able to provide feedback on the proposed draft alternatives. Written comments will be accepted until Friday, July 26, 2024.
To submit written comments, residents may download the comment form on the website www.jeo.com/ north-fork-wfpo under the “Public Meetings” section and email it to Brianna Lock at [email protected], fill out the online comment form for which there is a link at the same site, or send written comments to Curt Becker at [email protected].
