Breached irrigation canal threatens Polson Rehab
KRISTI NIEMEYER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 month AGO
Water from the nearby irrigation canal reached the back wall of Polson Health and Rehabilitation last Friday morning. Local firefighters installed pumps and sandbags to divert the flow. (City of Polson Fire Department photo)
Kristi Niemeyer learned her newspaper licks at the Mission Valley News and honed them at the helm of the Ronan Pioneer and, eventually, as co-editor of the Leader until 1993. She later launched and published Lively Times, a statewide arts and entertainment monthly (she still publishes the digital version), and produced and edited State of the Arts for the Montana Arts Council and Heart to Heart for St. Luke Community Healthcare. Reach her at [email protected] or 406-883-4343. | June 25, 2026 12:00 AM
The irrigation canal that runs above Polson Health and Rehabilitation overflowed last Friday, spilling water north onto the facility’s parking lot and edging into the back hallway of the building.
The City of Polson Fire Department, along with the Polson Rural Fire District, responded to the report of flooding at around 9:30 a.m. June 19.
According to assistant Polson fire chief Adam Reed, crews deployed a portable pump and about 33 feet of hose to divert the water to a secondary canal while the Flathead Indian Irrigation Project slowed the flow of water through the ditch.
CSKT Disaster and Emergency Services provided immediate access to a trailer containing sandbags, and the crews used about a dozen to contain the flooding and prevent it from entering the building.
While no evacuations were necessary “we started planning just in case,” Reed said. “The Red Cross was on standby to help if needed.”
Reed says the spillover was caused by higher-than-normal water flowing through the canal, which pushed debris into several culvert grates. Those blocked grates in turn created a backflow in the canal that spilled over the bank behind the Polson Boys and Girls Club and onto the parking lot below.
Using pumps, firefighters were able to push the floodwater to a nearby storm drain, while also clearing clogged grates to improve the water flow in the canal.
“Had we not fixed the problem quickly, I'm not confident the three pumps would have kept up, and we would have needed to move the patients,” Reed speculated. He said the facility houses from 50 to 70 rehab patients and nursing home residents.
The fire department kept a pump on site and continued to monitor the situation through the weekend. By Monday, Reed said the water level in the canal had diminished by more than five feet to a trickle.
In addition to the two fire departments, responding agencies included the City of Polson Public Works Department, CSKT Disaster and Emergency Services, and the staff of the Boys and Girls Club and Polson Health and Rehabilitation.
“The City of Polson Fire Department thanks everyone for their help,” Reed said.
ARTICLES BY KRISTI NIEMEYER
Orchardists enjoy 'one of the best markets ever' for Flathead cherries
Cherry grower Brian Campbell couldn’t be happier with this year’s harvest, and what he describes as “probably one of the best markets we've seen” for the luscious red fruit grown on the shores of Flathead Lake.
St. Ignatius Police signs on to Simply Report anti-trafficking partnership
The St. Ignatius Police Department is the first agency in Lake County, and among the first in Montana, to sign on to a new initiative that aims to combat human trafficking.
Teamwork helps state continue to thwart aquatic invaders
“We gotta keep it protected,” said Quinn Erwin of Helena as he waited in line at the Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) check station in Ravalli July 2. He was on his way to Flathead Lake with two jet skis in tow.