MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Kan. – The Montgomery County Road & Bridge Department says crews successfully removed a log jam that was impeding the flow of the Little Caney River.

“Years of accumulated driftwood have revealed layers upon layers of more wood underneath the logjam’s surface,” said Jim Wright, Montgomery County’s public works director told commissioners.

Wright says the log jam, combined with severe drought has put pressure on the Caney water system.

“It would actually evaporate from sunlight and just sit there in the air and the temperatures and the other thing it would also soak away so we were losing a lot of water,” Wright said.

The City says the log jam is about one mile upstream from the Little Caney River dam on the upstream side of a horseshoe bend in the river.

Officials say its location creates a natural trap for the driftwood. Over the years, a secondary channel has been cut in front of the log jam; however, the logjam itself has also blocked that secondary channel.

The city says if they don’t get three to four inches of rain soon, they have to rely on other water sources.

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