Weiser River flooding brings road closures and inconveniences but no major damage, thankfully

The fields that turned into lakes along Highway 95 south of Weiser last Tuesday drained on Thursday once the level of the Weiser River dropped.
 In the aftermath of flooding last week, there were no reports of serious or extensive damage, although a few roads took a beating.
 Floodwaters washed away the gravel shoulder of U.S. Highway 95 immediately south of Weiser. The damage was repaired by ITD crews on Thursday.
 Crews with the Washington County Road and Bridge Department also were out on Thursday with a trackhoe fixing a  portion of Cove Road where floodwaters had washed some of the shoulder gravel into an adjacent field. The asphalt on the road held up well under the flooding, officials said.  
 Salubria Road near Cambridge also had some rock washed away by flooding that ended up in a nearby field. County crews also repaired that road.
 “Nothing real major is showing up so far,” said Arlen Wilkins, supervisor of the county road and bridge department on Thursday.
 Elsewhere around Weiser, some newly seeded fields south of Hometown Motors were under water for a couple of days as a result of the flooding.
 It was reported that a couple of homes near Couper Road may have had their basements flooded. In Cambridge, there also were reports that water may have gotten into a couple of homes near the Weiser River.
 Tony Buthman, Washington County Emergency Management director, said the high flows on the Weiser River had damaged a couple of levees along the river near Cambridge and near Mundo Hot Springs.
 The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been notified and work to repair the levees should start soon, he said.
 The Weiser River crested at 12.9 feet on Tuesday evening last week at Weiser, a full three feet above flood stage of 9.5 feet. The flow was measured by the National Weather Service at 19,500 cubic feet per second.  The river also reached flood stage in Cambridge last Tuesday at more than 12 feet.
 The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for the Weiser River at Cambridge and at Weiser for Tuesday, April 9, as a combination of rain and accelerating snowmelt brought a swift rise in the river level.
 At 10-11 feet, the river began to spill water into low-lying fields along the river. When the river level reached 12 feet floodwaters began moving south over Couper Road and across U.S. Highway 95 south of Weiser.
 Weiser may have skirted serious flood damage this time around. The NWS notes that when  the Weiser River reaches 13 feet significant flooding can occur in a larger area..
 ITD employees closed Highway 95 between Weiser and Payette on Tuesday evening due to water over the roadway. The flooding also deposited debris, including tree limbs on the highway.  
 All traffic was detoured onto Oregon Highway 201. Couper and Cove roads were also closed to traffic due to flooding.
 Among the disruptions, the flooding and road closures impacted several Weiser School District bus routes on April 10, forcing the district to cancel student pick-ups at locations south of Weiser.
 The students impacted by the canceled routes were not expected to attend school that day, district officials said.
 Employees of Hometown Motors moved all of their vehicles to higher ground in town at the LDS church as a precaution on Monday.
 Floodwaters came up to the doors of the dealership showroom but did not appear to flood the building. The water was high enough to create a lake where the vehicles had been parked.
 Businesses south of Weiser closed on Wednesday while the highway was closed. ITD opened the highway between Weiser and Payette on Thursday at noon as floodwaters receded and after the roadway was cleared of debris deposited by the floodwaters.
 One official said the flooding last week did not appear to be as extensive as February of 2017, when the Weiser area also saw flooding following the big snow winter of 2017.  
 The cause of the flooding was an ice jam on the river, which acted like a dam and backed up water above the Cove Road bridge.
 Floodwaters rose above the riverbanks and moved both north and south, flooding fields and moving into a residential area in southeast Weiser. U.S. Highway 95 also was closed by floodwaters immediately south of Weiser.
 The flooding situation two years ago did not last long. Once the ice jams broke up, the river flowed within its banks without any problems.
 The all-time record flood stage on the Weiser River at Weiser was 17.2 feet. The river was flowing at 34,000 cfs.