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NORTH SALT LAKE — Geologists and residents have observed two small slope failures in areas of unrepaired terrain on the North Salt Lake landslide
One failure occurred behind a home on Parkway Drive, and another happened above the parking lot of the Eagleridge Tennis and Swim Club.
Melting snow and recent rain are possible causes for the movement in recent weeks, according to geologists. But they're are also watching to see whether repairs that were done on the hill last fall will contribute to further movement in lower areas.
"Both of these areas show a little bit of movement, so we've been out monitoring them and trying to get a handle on what this movement means and what might happen in the future," said Gregg Beukelman, a project geologist with the Utah Geological Survey.
Both areas of movement now have vertical scarps about 2 feet tall. The portion above the parking lot also has a crack that runs about 10 feet deep, which "suggests the possibility that it's a deep-seated failure," he said.
Most of the damage has come from a drainage pipe that broke when the slope shifted, causing water to run down the hill onto resident property and that of the tennis club.
Repairs on the hill began near the slide's one-year anniversary in August. Crews worked to smooth out the vertical face at the top and lessen the slope of the middle and upper portions of the hill. Crews did not go forward with plans to install a buttress at the bottom of the slide because tennis club owners say it would further limit usable space on their property.
The club still is unable to use three of its tennis courts, which are still covered by soil, rocks and water coming off the hillside.
Multiple lawsuits between the club, the city, the developer, utility companies and residents are still ongoing for the cost of damages and responsibility for the slide.
After initial remediation was completed, the Utah Geological Survey installed GPS monitoring points across the landscape and outside the slide to see how the hill might react to the repairs. Those GPS points were where the recent movement was measured.
Since lower portions of the slide haven't been repaired, they are the most likely to see continued movement since they border on equilibrium and further instability, Beukelman said.
"Anything that's going to upset that may cause additional movement," he said, adding that lower portions that slough off can cut into repaired terrain, risking further destabilization uphill.
But city leaders say their measurements show the recent movement is mostly "consolidation and erosion," and the slide as a whole is not moving significantly. Areas of loose soil, cracks and fissures will continue to settle until a buttress is installed at the bottom of the slope, according to City Manager Barry Edwards.
Rain has also made it difficult for crews to access and restore the pipe's connection to the area's storm drain system.
"We're aware of what's going on. We're going to have the contractor put the pipes back together," Edwards said. "As far as the ground settling, there's not much we can do about that."
Any movement, though, is still unsettling for many residents in the slide's vicinity.
Paul Evans lives in a home near the slide's upper-west edge. Part of his backyard fell away with the slide's main collapse in 2014, and last year's repairs included a two-tiered retention wall around the back of his property. But there's still more to do to make the entire hill safe again, Evans said.
City denies liability in North Salt Lake landslide
City officials have announced that North Salt Lake will not claim responsibility for a landslide that destroyed one home and damaged a tennis club more than two weeks ago."People are under the misperception that it was fixed. They did the middle and upper part, so they think it's all fixed and good to go. They don't realize that the most important part wasn't fixed," Evans said. "You can actually see water coming out of the hillside and down into the parking lot of the tennis club."
Progress on finding a solution for the bottom of the hill is still slow because of ongoing litigation. In the meantime, some residents are hesitant to express their safety concerns for fear of being pulled into a tangle of other lawsuits, said Evans, who, with other defendants, was sued by the developer last year.
"Nobody's willing to put their neck out there on this thing because they don't want to be sued," Evans said. "And now we've got a dangerous situation."
Beukelman said geologists originally planned to measure the slope for movement every six months or so, but they'll likely increase the frequency of those measurements "quite a bit" in light of recent shifts.
Storms on Wednesday produced 0.19 inches of rain at the Salt Lake City International Airport, not far from the site of the slide. Thursday was expected to bring anywhere from ¼ of an inch to ¾ of an inch of additional rain to the area, according to KSL meteorologist Grant Weyman.
City leaders said they are also monitoring the slide continuously. But knowing when and how much movement will continue in unrepaired areas is difficult, especially as rains continue, Edwards said.
"Mother Nature's in charge. We'd love to be able to give people assurances that nothing's ever going to happen, but that's not something we can guarantee," he said.
