Federal aid didn't come in time to save Wellington homes from 2nd flood


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WELLINGTON, Carbon County — The people of a small community spent Friday cleaning up after nearly a half-foot of rain swamped a dozen homes. This, while city officials were still working to fix problems from a similar flood two years ago.

"My heart breaks for these people. They shouldn't have had to go through this again," Wellington Mayor Joan Powell said.

She could not contain her frustration as she looked over the damage.

"I don't know what to do," she said. "We're just a small town."

The Natural Resources Conservation Service just allocated $30,000 to clear the Price River of willows and logjams. That's after floodwaters two years ago damaged the same homes and overwhelmed their wastewater treatment plant.

"We were almost there. They had plans to help us this fall. We had until November to use the money, and look. The water beat us to it," the mayor said.

"Something definitely needs to be done with this river," said Brian Powell, a homeowner who is mopping up his property for the second time in two years.

"It has to flood 22 acres out there, 3 feet deep to hit me; and it just started coming," he said.

He was already bailing out when another wave came through Thursday night. According to NRCS, 6 inches of rain soaked the town in 24 hours.

The state engineer with the NRCS said his agency tried to get more money for the city from the emergency watershed fund, but that was all they were eligible for.

"Because of government red tape and government funding — and Wellington City doesn't mean anything to Washington, D.C. We're still waiting for the funding to come to us that is needed to do this," Joan Powell said.

Now the NRCS will start the process again to try to prevent the next flood. Representatives from Utah Gov. Gary Herbert's office told the mayor Friday that they too would take a serious look at their problem. She just hopes what they can get will help shore up the river so this doesn't happen again in two more years.

"Every time there's a cloud in the west our hearts start sinking," Joan Powell said.

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