Residents of Arrow Island Subdivision, located near Shepherd, are anxious about the potential of being flooded out by the Yellowstone River should action not be taken to stop the erosion of the river bank. They do not believe there is any time to waste in constructing weirs and re-building the irrigation ditch that has already eroded away. The problem is the project is going to be quite costly.
Several of the residents brought their problem before Yellowstone County Commissioners last week to inform them of the situation, gain their cooperation in seeking permits and permissions to address it, and maybe getting some funding to help defray the cost.
To provide the armor that will be needed to thwart the river’s efforts to forge a new channel of Pinto Road, which may have been the river’s channel sometime in the past — is being estimated to cost some half million dollars, according to Jim Greenberg, a spokesman for the group of residents. They hope to find some kind of grant to help with the cost, but will probably need the cooperation of the County to sponsor any application and to help administer any grant awarded.
The property owners believe with the next high water, probably in 2020, the river will break through, with the potential to flood several homes along Pinto Road and an access road used by other property owners in the subdivision. It will probably flood the county-owned park in the subdivision, and perhaps Eagle Bend Park and bluffs, as well.
