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ALPINE — One summer, Alpine residents were chased from their homes by a wildfire. The following summer, it was a rush of mud and water.
The completion of a $1.8 million Emergency Watershed Protection project celebrated Tuesday should help to chase away fears instead of residents.
City officials were joined by their federal partners, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resource Conservation Service in Utah, offering tours of the work and showcasing the flood- and mud-control structures they hope will avert damage in the future.
"As we toured some of the sites today, I was very pleased to see the positive way Alpine city stepped up to make sure this restoration work was accomplished in a timely way,” said David Brown, state conservationist for NRCS in Utah.
Over the past year, several sites had been damaged by mudflows and floods in the aftermath of the 2012 Quail Fire, which burned more than 2,000 acres above Alpine.
Shane Sorensen, Alpine's city engineer and public works director, said work after the wildfire initially began on city property and moved its way up the canyons. A July 5 storm in 2013 caused flooding, and torrential storms in mid-September inflicted substantial damage to homes and businesses.
- 2 restoration sites in Cache County
- 2 efforts along the Weber River system in Weber County
- Rehabilitation projects in Washington County and at the Green River
"Based on that, we knew what our weaknesses were," Sorensen said, adding that the second phase of the project incorporated that knowledge via the installation of debris basins and channels that direct the water and mud from Wadsworth and Box Elder canyons to Dry Creek below.
The funding effort included $460,000 in local funding and in-kind work from Alpine. NRCS officials estimate the project will provide more than $5 million in public benefits by reducing damages from future flooding.
The Emergency Watershed Protection Program was set up by Congress to respond to emergencies created by natural disasters, such as floods, fires and windstorms. In addition to its public safety and environmental benefits, the program supports local jobs via its restoration work. In this case, the local engineering firm selected was Bowen Collins and Associates Inc.
