With the required permit now in hand, Pottawatomie County District 1 crews have been able to begin working on problems to fix the North Canadian River near Brangus Road and Garrett’s Lake Road.
“We’ve been putting some dirt in and A&A has been hauling in more riprap to build that bank out more. We hauled the dirt in,” District 1 Commissioner Melissa Dennis said early this week.
“If it stops raining, we can get it done pretty quickly,” she said, without predicting a definite timeline due to the rain. She pointed to the rainfall that occurred in the area this past Saturday night and Sunday.
Dennis predicted a couple of weeks ago that whenever it stops raining and dries out enough for crews to begin work, “we’re hoping we can get it done in three to four weeks.
“The permit we received from the Corps of Engineers allows us to work indefinitely,” she said then.
However, the rains throughout March have prevented her crews from getting started.
She said she thinks her crews may get the work done by the end of this month or early May.
“We want to get that riprap in. We need to build that bank out but I’m about done with that,” Dennis said.
The U.S. Corps of Engineers finally approved the permit in February that allows her crews to get in the river. She began seeking that permit in late May, early June of last year.
“The Corps will only allow me to go 500 feet around the bank of the river,” she said. “Our engineers estimated that would take about 2,000 tons of rip rap and that’s what we ordered.
“That really won’t go that far. But we can’t go below the natural flow line of the river. The Corps won’t allow us.”
She said her crews were doing the dirt work as well as the other work as well.
“I’m paying for all of it. If the hazard mitigation plan goes through, and I’ve already applied for it, we’ll get reimbursed by the federal and state government. The feds pay 75/25 percent and the state pays half of the 25 which means I only have to pay 12 ½,” she explained.
Dennis said the rock cost about $49,000, hauling it to the site was another $33,000.
The dirt only cost about $400. It was cheap, she believes.
“But that doesn’t include all the man hours we’ve spent on the project,” she said.
“I think A&A has a little bit more rip rap to haul in. We’ll have to get some more of the dirt in place before we move the rock in.”
In May and June of 2019 Dennis sounded the alarm about the river.
“I’ll lose Garrett’s Lake Road in the next six months unless the Corps of Engineers lets me do something.”
Since then, the river only has crept closer to the road.
Her district covers most of the northern portion of Pottawatomie County. Included are North Rock Creek, Dale and McLoud among other areas.
Pottawatomie County is one of many across Oklahoma that was declared a major disaster area last year and is eligible for federal and state funding.