It's no secret that the Big Wood River could swell to epic proportions during peak runoff in the next few weeks, which is why county and state officials are keeping an eagle's eye on the actions of homeowners in the watershed.
With the threat of significant property damage looming, several Blaine County residents have attempted to alter the direction of the river to mitigate those risks. In turn, they've heightened the chance of flooding to all of their downstream neighbors—and in some instances been slapped with a misdemeanor.
"When somebody puts in a riprap barrier, it alters the stream flow," said Carrie Norton, code compliance specialist for Blaine County. Riprap refers to rocks or other debris placed in or along the river channel to mitigate erosion and flooding.
"If you're blocking off the floodplain, then you could cause the river to be higher downstream because you're reducing the ability for the river to spread," said Terry Blau, stream protection specialist for the Idaho Department of Water Resources.
Norton said people can not alter the stream channel in any way—including sand-bagging—and that motorized equipment is not allowed in the stream channel.
"That includes overflow channels—even where there's an obvious high water mark it still could be considered inside the river channel," she said. "Everything someone does in the river affects people downstream, and possibly upstream.
"That's why it's so important to let water flow into the floodplain. The floodplain has to be allowed to function (naturally)."
The misdemeanor carries a $300 fine for every day of operation without a permit.
By Tuesday, Blaine County and the IDWR had documented about a half-dozen cases of illegal riprapping in the county, according to Norton. She said that may seem like a small number but that all of those cases are subject to potentially "major" investigations, and that there may be more pending.
"That's just what we know about," Norton said. "That can increase if people are willing to give us a call."
Norton said the county and IDWR have limited resources and can only patrol so much of the river.
"Neighbors need to be on top of this and call us. That's one of the best ways for us to find out," she said. Reports will be kept anonymous, she added.
Some of the violators are unaware that what they're doing is wrong, while others do it because they don't think they'll get caught, Norton said.
"There are a number of people who know better and continue to thumb their noses at us and those are the worst offenders," Norton said. "They have no care for what their actions may have on others."
And in many cases violators would have been issued permits if they had simply contacted the county or state.
"It's a lot easier for me to help someone through the emergency stream alteration process than it is to respond to a violation," Norton said. "It's a lot easier if people just follow the protocol."
So far, about six residents have been issued emergency stream alteration permits from the county.
Sarah Michael, chairwoman of the Blaine County Commission, said the county has been barraged with phone calls this week relating to concerns of banks and trees collapsing into the river and creating log jams, which can cause the river to be redirected.
"Our phones have been ringing off the hook," Michael said. "These log jams can be fairly serious."
Norton said several companies are available to assist in the removal of trees, installation of sand bags and to conduct riparian work to mitigate flooding. To obtain a permit, contact Norton at the county's offices—788-5570.
Norton said people planning to sand-bag their property should begin preparing immediately. Properly sand-bagging 100 feet of property would require 84 tons of sand—when wet—Norton said.
"If people think they might need it, they should be making phone calls," she said.
On Tuesday, county commissioners extended the county's flood disaster, which was declared last week, for an additional 45 days. The commissioners also approved Valley Air Photos to conduct flights of the Big and Little Wood watersheds to capture aerial photographs of the flooding. Norton said the photos could be used to document illegal stream alteration operations.
An abundance of flood-related information, including information about permits and sand-bagging, can be accessed on the county's Web site, www.blainecounty.org.
High water flows last month on the lower Big Wood River below Magic Reservoir forecast the power of surging flows still to come on the upper river in the Big Wood Valley, Photo by Willy Cook
