According to information provided by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Weather Service, the Caney River at Bartlesville is expected to crest above 17 feet on Saturday, said City of Bartlesville Director of Engineering/Floodplain Administrator Micah Siemers.
“The National Weather Service hydrograph is projecting the river to crest again at 17.2 feet tomorrow afternoon,” Siemers said late Friday. “This is likely due to anticipated increased inflow into Hulah Lake. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said today they had increased releases at Copan Lake to 5,800 cubic feet of water per second at 7 a.m. and 4,000 cfs at Hulah Lake at 10 a.m. There is a possibility they will increase Hulah releases again to 8,000 sometime today, but that is not certain at this time.”
Several roads were closed in Bartlesville in the aftermath of the flooding that began earlier this week. As of Friday afternoon, all had been re-opened. However, rising river levels could result in more closures over the weekend, Siemers said.
“If the river crests above 17 feet tomorrow, many of those roads will likely be impassable again,” he said. “There could be some additional structure flooding as well.”
Siemers said safety precautions should always remain a priority in flood situations.
“Safety is the No. 1 priority in these situations,” he said. “It is important that everyone understand it is not safe to drive their vehicle into water on the roadway or to stand or play in floodwater.”
City of Bartlesville staff have been conducting FEMA required Substantial Damage Estimate inspections of properties located in the special flood hazard area that were affected by this week’s flooding — a process that was completed today, Siemers said.
“We completed the site visits/inspections today for upwards of 80 structures that have been affected by this flood event,” he said. “The majority only affected crawl space or attached garages and accessory structures, but we’ve got a couple dozen that water actually entered the finished floor of the structure.”
For regular updates on road closures and other information, follow the City’s Facebook page at City of Bartlesville GOV or see https://www.cityofbartlesville.org/.