US Army Corps of Engineers visits river two years later

WORLAND – When large blocks of ice floated down the Big Horn River and caused flooding in downtown Worland in February 2017, response to the event was huge from the community.

The efforts to protect homes and the community was a huge part of the recovery effort, and removing more than 34,000 cubic yards of a sand bar from the middle of the river next to Big Horn Avenue Bridge was a major part of preventing a future catastrophe.

Along with the removal of silt and sediment from the sand bar, a plan is being discussed to figure out a way to divert the sediment out of the river to prevent a future tragedy.

On Monday, August 5, the US Army Corps of Engineers from the Omaha District held a meeting, and took a tour of the river to see what truly was the root of the problems for the river.

Washakie County Emergency Management/Homeland Security Director Kami Neighbors said that the core of the meeting was to discuss the "sediment problem that is flowing into the Big Horn River from the surrounding creeks."

The Scope of Work, which is federally funded up to $100,000 is set to evaluate a plan of action within the next one or two months, and figure out a course of action to remove the possibility of an overflow in Worland, without affecting the river in a negative way further downstream.

According to Neighbors, once the Scope of Work is completed, the plan will be presented to the county and city, and funding for the project will be 50% funded alongside 50% funds provided from Washakie County and the city of Worland.