H20 No, Not Again

It seems that flooding season is upon us again. Most of us were glad to see last year’s unusually bad season come to an end and hope to never see a season like that again. We may all be disappointed.

If the past week has been any indication of what is to come, then it looks like we may be in for a replay of last year. (I live on 9 Mile creek and this past week have seen the water jump over the bank and start to flow in our pasture.) The combination of the really hot weather followed by rain has created the perfect storm when it comes to flooding. The hot weather melts the snow in the mountains and creates runoff, and the rain, well that just adds to the problem.

Not all of the flooding problems last year were from rivers or streams over-flowing. Some of it was from unusually high ground water. Many people in Missoula county and other Montana counties were buying sump pumps and pumping endless gallons of water out of their basements. It seems everyone was affected in one way or another by last year’s flooding.

We all hope that the flooding last year was a once in a lifetime event, but no one knows for sure. We can all hope and pray that we never have to live through a year like that again.

Joy Larson is a mother of four boys, graduate of The University of Montana, animal lover and writer.