Borough Declares Disaster for Flooding in Upper Valley

Recent floods have led the Mat-Su Borough to declare a disaster for the Upper Susitna Valley. That includes the flooded area at the end of Talkeetna’s Main Street and the Petersville Road area near Trapper Creek. 

Heavy rains beginning the last week of August caused flooding in Talkeetna. Floodwaters topped the revetment and crept up Main Street. Across the Susitna River in Trapper Creek, small waterways flooded the Petersville Road area, stranding about 30 people.

Borough Manager Mike Brown says the disaster declaration indicates to the State and Federal government that the impacts of the events exceed the local capacity to make repairs. The Borough does not own Petersville Road, however, Brown says they kept the disaster area large enough in case other issues come about from the flooding.

Brown says the Borough hopes the State of Alaska will follow suit and declare a disaster so funding will become available, particularly for the Talkeetna dike and revetment. 

“This will be the third consecutive year we’ve put significant resources into that dike and revetment and frankly, it doesn’t do anything to say that it won’t happen again next year.”

Brown says they are looking for a tangible outcome from the Army Corps of Engineers, a solution that will better protect the community similar to the protections put in place in Juneau after the Mendenhall Glacier outburst in 2024. Many neighborhoods were well protected in Juneau against another glacial outburst this year. 

“And the Federal government, the [Army] Corps of Engineers, from what I understand, were part of that solution. So why can’t we do something similar in Talkeetna? Why can’t we move quickly and come up with something that doesn’t look like this next year. And frankly if it’s worse, it could result, you know erosion could lead to flooding that’s far more problematic than anything we’ve experienced. I don’t want to wait until that happens.”

The Army Corps of Engineers conducted an erosion study in Talkeetna that outlined several options, with only one being viable given the velocity and turbidity of the rivers. No funding to address the erosion has materialized so far. The costs of the project would require federal dollars to support it.

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