Local engineers recommend upstream catch basins, tree removal and boulder check dams to slow debris flow

Hayden George, who led the technical briefing, said the greatest risk is debris already in the stream bottoms above the dam and urged removing large dead trees and placing stacked boulders to form catch basins approximately every quarter mile. "My my biggest concern probably is our town springs," he said, arguing that slowing and trapping debris upstream can reduce the risk to the springs and downstream infrastructure.

George recommended focusing efforts from Adelaide down toward Levitts and the springs, using existing rock outcroppings where possible and placing smaller basins in tributaries where equipment can access them. He cautioned that while the debris basin will collect much material, Corn Creek is a large drainage and the more upstream removal and localized check dams the town can implement quickly, the better the chance of preventing choke points at culverts and bridges.