The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it cannot help alter Oakley Dam's outlet tunnel because a flood emergency no longer exists.
The Oakley Canal Co. and Goose Creek Flood Control District will have to find another way to pay for the work.They sought assistance in case high volumes of water needed to be released this spring.
Pressure in the tunnel could cause its steel liner to collapse during high flows. The corps was asked to help early in the year when a huge snowpack formed.
That prompted Gov. Phil Batt to declare Cassia County an emergency area because of flood threat.
Yet, dry weather in February and March eased the Goose Creek flood danger. Corps engineer Fernando Aguilar said an imminent threat no longer exists, so the work cannot be financed through the agency's emergency division.
The latest snowpack measurements show water content in the Oakley and Salmon Falls basins is 158 percent of average.