Homeowners in Morgan battling rising groundwater


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MORGAN -- More rain is in the forecast, and that's especially bad news for a neighborhood in Morgan where rivers are filled to the banks and the ground is soaked through.

Each day, city officials say more and more homeowners are dealing with the rising groundwater. In all, it's estimated that more than 50 homes are dealing with groundwater flooding in the city of Morgan. Some have been battling it non-stop for weeks.

Basements in Morgan are filling with water as rivers overflow and groundwater rises.
Basements in Morgan are filling with water as rivers overflow and groundwater rises.

Diane Dickson is fighting to keep her basement pond from flowing into her family room. It's kept her up through most of the night.

"It took us from 1 to 4 to get it to where we thought we could leave it for an hour or so," she said. "We went to bed, got up at 5:30, and of course, twice as much" water had come in by then.

Many of her neighbors on Island Road in Morgan are facing the same problem.

"This just started a couple of days ago, in the corner of the basement," said Tara Low. "I walked down a few hours later and the whole half-basement was full of water."

Many of these residents keep several pumps going on their property 24 hours a day.

"Very tiring. Not sleeping at night, listening for pumps, making sure they're working, getting up every couple of hours, checking the water," one exhausted resident told KSL.

Neighbor Carolyn Hibler says she and her husband had just finished their basement before the water seeped in. Now, they've been trying to keep it at bay for weeks.

At this point, she says, she's just grateful to still have a home.

Some homeowners try to fight back with a sense of humor.
Some homeowners try to fight back with a sense of humor.

In this small-town neighborhood, many homeowners say they've been depending on each other to get by.

"We had dozens of people coming in and just really saved us," said homeowner Lavar Edwards. "I don't know what I would have done without their help."

In the Wasatch Shadows subdivision, some homeowners try to fight back with a sense of humor.

"We've had a lot of people drive by, look at it. Get a kick out of it and smile," one resident told KSL.

"We call that Rubbernecker Springs, Utah, because people are always looking, of course," another said, referring to the sign they posted near their water pumps that flow continuously into the street.

City leaders say one of the biggest problems is the water doesn't have many places to go. They say people need to either send it back into a creek or the street. They say routing it to the sewer is illegal and could make the problem worse by causing a back-up.

Many of these homeowners expect to keep pumping for days to come. They're just hopeful that the worst is over.

Email: manderson@ksl.com

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Mike Anderson

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