HELENA – The Lewis and Clark Conservation District and the county are creating a group to develop a flood mitigation plan for the Augusta area after back-to-back Spring flooding.
The conservation district will work with state departments like Transportation, Environmental Quality, and Fish, Wildlife and Parks, as well as landowners and other stakeholders on the project.
The group will address current and potential flood damage to properties in and around Augusta with the goal of developing solutions to protect agricultural land, private property and public infrastructure.
County commissioner, Susan Good Geise said flooding in Elk Creek and Augusta is a complex and costly issue.
“Certainly, for Lewis and Clark County residents, I mean, we spend hundreds and hundreds, of thousands of dollars on infrastructure there, on roads and bridges,” Geise said.
“You know, some of those bridges that were wiped out we can’t even get to yet. They’re county-owned bridges, but they are so far up Elk Creek that they are not accessible, but they are going to play a pivotal role on what we do moving forward,” he added.
Officials say as the plan moves forward they will look at funding for projects, including a DNRC grant that could pay for a detailed hydrologic analysis of the entire length of Elk Creek.
-Christine Sullivan reporting for MTN News
