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EAGLE MOUNTAIN -- Residents in two different Eagle Mountain subdivisions are hauling out ruined furniture and pulling out soggy insulation from their basements after being flooded for the second time in seven days.
Lori Burnett's neighbors were among the hardest hit in the Kiowa Valley area of the city by the recent thunderstorms. During the first storm on Saturday, three feet of water pooled up near her home in the street. From there it started going down into window wells and into basements.
"The city said the drains were clear and everything was working properly," said Burnett. "It was a once in a hundred year storm is what they told us. Then on Wednesday we had another storm, worse than the first one."
It was a once in a hundred year storm is what they told us. Then on Wednesday we had another storm, worse than the first one.
–Lori Burnett
This storm left seven feet of water in her neighbor's house and it looks as if the foundation is ruined. The family can no longer live there -- cracks are running through the walls and the doors won't close.
Over in the lower section of the Silver Lake subdivision, homeowners like Dave Peters have been closely watching the skies. Residents there have also been fighting flood waters coming off the hillsides from the homes above.
"In the middle of the night I hear thunder. I've got up every night and come out here and turned the light on and just watched for a while to see what's going on -- to see how hard it's going to rain," said Peters.
He says in his case his builder, Richmond American, has been replacing the water-logged insulation in his basement and has promised to help find ways to keep the water out of his house.
Peters says he wonders how the homes were approved in the first place if there were going to be these kinds of drainage problems.
A city spokesperson says they've been working with residents since the first storm by providing sand bags and clearing mud and debris off roads. Officials also say they have been checking the storm drains, which are up to code, and say they were clear during the storms.
However, because the flooding was so severe, specifically in the Kiowa Valley area, the city is going to upgrade the drainage system with work beginning next week. But the city won't be paying for damages to homes, and that has homeowners like Burnett frustrated.
She and others in her neighborhood have been adding up the costs.
"They counted 44 houses yesterday that had some sort of water damage in our ward," said Burnett.
Residents say the Riverton Home Depot provided employees and sand bags to help contain the flooding.
City officials say in the Silver Lake subdivision most of the flooding problems are sloping issues on private property, which is out of the city's hands.
E-mail: rjeppesen@ksl.com
