Crews working quickly to prevent levee breach in Jefferson County - East Idaho News
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Crews working quickly to prevent levee breach in Jefferson County

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LORENZO — Emergency repair work began on the damaged Heise-Roberts levee system along the Snake River this weekend.

The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers and Jefferson County started hauling large boulders from all around eastern Idaho to the rapidly eroding levee on Saturday morning. The boulders were placed on either end of the 400 feet of damaged levee. Crews are working on repairing the edges first and working their way to the middle.

The damaged section of the levee is located about four miles downstream of the Lorenzo bridge on U.S. Highway 20, north of Menan.

By Sunday afternoon, about one-third of the repair work was completed, according to Jefferson County Emergency Manager Rebecca Squires. Full stabilization of the levee is expected to be complete early in the week, with long-term repairs to be completed afterwards.

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Crews have been on scene since the damage was discovered May 12. They are working quickly as the damaged levee is eroding at a pace of about two feet per day, Squires said.

If the levee were to breach, it would flood adjacent farmland. However, if the water level in the Snake River were to increase above its current level, there are about 65 homes that could be impacted by flooding.

Jefferson County officials warn drivers to be aware of large trucks on the roads loaded with rocks. Due to heavy loads, those vehicles will have decreased stopping ability, Squires said.

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