Last night’s penultimate s/c meeting was centered on the updated Hydrology report regarding the dam’s impact on flood conditions in the lower portion of the creek. PWA projected likely impact of the dam based on its original height, and then minus 1, 2 and 3 feet noting to what degree the creek capacity would be altered. They also outlined the possible benefit of a proposed broadening of the flood plain area allowing a natural spillway for high flow periods and how that would affect capacity.
Based on a 2 feet reduction in dam (which is a conservative estimate of what was removed back in January) there is very limited difference to flow capacity above the mainstreet bridge even when compared to no dam at all. This is of course assuming that there dam remains during a rainstorm, which is a huge assumption given the fact that every time we received at least a half inch of rain in a 24 hour period, the dam has washed out. In addition the city staff still is reporting that they will pull the cable if needed to for emergency dam removal.
All in all, the hydrology options looked much brighter for the beavers last night, and the mood of the meeting was encouraging. Next week the final and fourth draft of the report will be reviewed. That meeting will be on Monday and we’ll make sure to get the report up as soon as possible. If all goes as planned the full report will be presented to the Council for vote at the April 2nd meeting. Mark your calendars.
Photo by Cheryl Reynolds
