Damage Review Underway Following Levee Breach Near Messex
MESSEX, Colo. (AP) - Emergency management officials are planning to use rocks and dirt to repair a 100-yard breach in a levee after water from the swollen South Platte River in northeastern Colorado inundated several homes in the tiny community of Messex.
Washington County emergency manager Michael McCaleb said workers hope to begin building a temporary levee about 4 feet tall on Thursday.
On Wednesday, officials used four-wheel drive and all-terrain vehicles to survey the damage and found three houses that were flooded.
High water halted rail traffic along the busy northeastern corridor while inspectors wait for up to 10 inches of water to recede from the tracks.
McCaleb said the area has seen flooding for the past month because of heavy rains upstream along the South Platte River, and evacuation notices were sent out to a small number of homes in the area because of concern that emergency vehicles could not reach them because of damaged roads and bridges.
McCaleb said there are also concerns about snowmelt from the Rocky Mountains, with temperatures predicted to soar into the 90s in some areas along the Front Range in the coming weeks.
"The South Platte has been flooding for about a month now. We usually get only four or five days of high water a year," he said.
Joe Sloan, spokesman for the BNSF railway, said nearly 30 trains a day use tracks in the northeastern corridor, where up to 10 inches of water has covered several miles of track that must be inspected before service can resume.
The main entrances to Chatfield State Park southwest of Denver have been partially closed due to flooding.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife is working with the Army Corps of Engineers to safely release the floodwaters through Chatfield Reservoir without causing additional flooding downstream. Officials said it could take several weeks, depending on weather conditions.
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