Flooding levels are slowly receding throughout Umatilla County as well as along McKay Creek as of Monday morning. Emergency officials, however, say it is not a time to remove sandbags.
The Incident Command Team met with agencies this morning with the following information:
Bureau of Reclamation has reported the current outflow levels at McKay Reservoir at 2,350 cubic feet per second (cfs) with a goal to reach a flow of 2,100 cfs by end of the day, maintaining this level until further assessment.
For health reasons it is recommended all of Umatilla County in the flood zones who are on private wells which have been overrun use caution and boil all water for at least one minute, or use bottled water from a safe source until your supply is tested and determined safe. The city of Pendleton municipal water supply remains to be safe.
Citizens should use caution to avoid being in the flood waters. Those who are being exposed to the waters should use proactive measures to ensure safety by recognizing the waters could be contaminated by debris and hazardous materials.
For further information, citizens are being directed to the Oregon Health Authority website.
A precautionary water diversion trench around the privately owned bridge at the city of Pendleton Wastewater Treatment Plant was dug this morning.
Struve Bridge off Kirk Ext. remains closed and continues to be monitored by city of Pendleton Public Works on the scene.
Operations crews will be on the ground today, doing GPS addressing pertaining to damage to homes as they begin to access recovery needs.
Team Rubicon, a veteran led disaster response organization has been called in to assist with the recent flooding. These volunteers will begin canvasing the neighborhoods and helping assess damages in the area beginning tomorrow. This organization consists of mainly retired veterans and first responders and has experience helping communities to stabilize and recover after a natural disaster. Volunteers will be wearing a gray t-shirt with the words “Team Rubicon” on them.
To view the flooding on McKay Creek, the city of Pendleton has a drone fly over which may be accessed online.
