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SOUTH WEBER - Blowing sand from the Staker Parson sandpit is causing a messy problem for some homeowners living nearby. They say it's getting into cars and doorways, and has only gotten worse in recent years.
Now, some of those homeowners are urging the city and gravel companies to do something about it.
"The granules will get in our doorknobs," homeowner Sean Swedin said, "and you can't even open your door sometimes because it has all the sand junk in it."
Swedin, who grew up in South Weber and now lives in an 1890's era home along 7400 south. He said the amount of sand coming from the sandpit, at 2350 S. 1900 West, started going up considerably about five or six years ago.
"We'd never get sand before," Swedin said. "Once in a while, you'd sand on your front porch or something like that, that was easy to clean up, but this is way over the top."
Walking around his property Monday, Swedin showed KSL how sand had gradually brought the base of his lawn several inches above the concrete. He said it collects under his garage doors and on windows and cars.
"It's been very frustrating," Swedin said. "We worry, first of all, about the destruction of our property. We're just regular folk, but we also have to worry about our health. Is that sand going into our systems? Is it causing a problem? I don't know."
Swedin said over the past several years he has pleaded with the city and Staker Parson to better control the problem, but he's seen little result.
South Weber City Manager Tom Smith, however, told KSL on Monday that help is on the way. He said Staker Parson officials have "mentioned that they want to do a stucco-type composite material that they'd spray over the top of the dust and dirt they're excavating, so they can trap it and hold it down."
Smith said there are also plans in the works to plant trees along the berms to better contain the sand, and to place metal wind barriers. Some of those changes, he said, could be seen as early as sometime next year.
As for Staker Parson, KSL reached out to the company for comment on the situation Monday, but our attempts went unanswered.
