Bells Flats is a popular neighborhood a short drive from Kodiak nestled between mountains and Women’s Bay, with several rivers flowing through it. But one of the main ways in and out of the neighborhood was flooded with fast-moving water over a foot deep on June 9.
A flood warning was issued for Kodiak due to heavy rains over the weekend, and rerouted some drivers on Sargent Creek Road. It’s the second time this year that flooding has caused traffic issues on Sargent Creek Road.
Dave Conrad is the director of the Kodiak Island Borough’s engineering and facilities department. He’s lived in the area for decades and said the borough is well aware of the issue.
“We’re doing a hydrology study to see what can be done with these alluvial water bodies because the water bodies moved,” he said.
The flood caused more issues than just a slower commute home though. Conrad said at least one ambulance had to slow down to cross the rushing water, but he’s not aware of any injuries because of flooding.
“I’m grateful that people were smart enough to minimize their amount of trips and not travel through that swift water because you don’t know when a cars going to float and go into the river – and that would be a disaster,” Conrad said.
Addressing the issue is complicated. The area that gets the worst flooding intersects with a highway managed by the state and the river flows through land owned by the U.S. Coast Guard.
Conrad said he’s not sure how long it would take to repair Sargent Creek Road because of how many permits the borough needs. Sargent Creek is the spawning ground for several anadromous fish.
“This would be a relatively expensive repair, whether you try to redirect or re-channelize, there’s permitting on channelizing, removing gravel,” he said. “So it would probably be a couple of years.”
He said both the bridges over Sargent Creek and nearby Russian River are due for replacement. Repairs to prevent future flooding will likely have to be a joint effort between the borough and the state.
Kodiak’s State Rep. Louise Stutes said the flood area qualifies for emergency funding from the state for immediate repairs.
The excess water has since receded.
