River brings flood woes

Sutton homes threatened by Matanuska overflow

January 29, 2006

DARRELL L. BREESE/Frontiersman reporter

SUTTON - For more than a decade, the Matanuska River has been leaving a path of destruction in the Butte area, eroding land and even claiming several homes.

Recently the river has been causing damage in Sutton, where the river has overflowed its banks and is threatening homes. The problem is so severe that Eimo Kuoppala, who lives between the river and the Glenn Highway, has had to pump water out of the basement of his home near the river nearly every day for the last two months.

&#8220He's 89 years old and he is out there pumping his basement nearly every day,” his neighbor, Mike Pearson, said. &#8220Something has to be done to help him and the rest of us who live along the river.”

Area residents met Tuesday at the Alpine Inn to discuss what could be done to control the river and prevent the overflow.

&#8220The river is freezing and then overflowing and freezing again,” said assembly member Lynne Woods, who both lives in and represents the community on the Glenn Highway. &#8220The problem is becoming more severe as the ice builds up into glaciers, forcing the water over the banks. We need to find a solution to the problem before it takes someone's home.”

The most severe flooding is occurring between Miles 63.5 and 65 of the highway, where there are a handful of homes nestled in low-lying wooded areas near the river.

&#8220It's really a charming place to live when the river isn't running into your house,” Pearson said. &#8220All we want is the ability to take some action to protect our homes. All the damage happening now is preventable.”

Residents at the meeting suggested possible solutions to the problem, including applying a layer of rocks on the banks to prevent erosion, digging a deep channel to redirect the river and having either the state or borough buy out the five homeowners at risk.

&#8220I don't want to sell,” Kuoppala said. &#8220I homesteaded here and don't want to give it up or lose my home to the river.”

Woods and Pearson met with Borough Manager John Duffy to discuss the problem and determine if there is any possible resolution.

Pearson believes the best solution would be digging a trench and building up a natural barrier that would redirect the river into the channel it followed a year ago.

&#8220It wouldn't be a long-term fix,” Pearson said of dredging the river bottom. &#8220But it would provide us time to figure out what the best course of action would be. And in the meantime, it would prevent any further damage to area homes.”

Residents voiced frustration at the lack of action from the borough and state. Neither entity has offered any assistance, to date.

&#8220The state will rush to protect roads and their buildings when they are threatened,” Woods said. &#8220But they are reluctant to do anything to protect the homes of the taxpayers.”

&#8220The borough is talking about spending between $3 million and $5 million on dikes to protect homes in the Butte,” Pearson said. &#8220You'd think they would be willing to send a little money our way. They built a dike up here in the '80s with federal money and the borough was supposed to maintain it and they didn't. It has failed now and is gone. Why can't they use some of that money to help us out?”

Contact Darrell L. Breese

at 352-2267 or darrell.breese@

frontiersman.com.