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WARREN, Weber County — The National Guard was on standby and state crews continued cutting through roads to keep water moving after a levee break started flooding west Weber County Thursday morning.
The break is threatening about 15 homes and agricultural land just east of the Great Salt Lake.
An attempt during the day to block the levee with sandbags large enough they had to be placed with heavy equipment was a long shot, and it did not work, said Weber County Sheriff's Lt. Mark Lowther. "The water just picked them right up and carried them away, so we're looking at some other options."
Two days ago there was no water in the back field. And today we have a river in the backyard.
–Delores Devaul, Warren resident
#devaul_q
Roads built higher than adjacent fields and pastures acted as inadvertent dams, allowing water to rise around adjacent homes, so crews cut through 700 North, 5500 West, 5900 West and 6700 West to help move the flood waters toward the Great Salt Lake.
The Utah National Guard will not take an active role unless called in by the governor, but the Guard did make an evaluation just in case it is called on, said Lt. Col. Hank McIntire. "We had an air and ground team looking at the situation, and we're ready to respond as requested," he said. "If the state wants to use us as one of the tools in their tool box, they task us through the governor's office."
A promise of support also came from Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah. "I am monitoring the flooding closely and am sending representatives to survey the damage. We are in constant contact with state and local officials. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Utahns affected by this development," he said.
Gov. Gary Herbert toured the area last week as the potential for flooding became a heightened concern. The levee that gave way, near 6000 West and 1100 North, is in an area where six large pumps were moving Weber River water into an emergency canal to help prevent flooding.
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"The water wasn't coming up fast enough to where we were desperate, but it's something we had planned for," he said at mid-day. "I don't know how much water is getting through right now, but it's not good."
Ed Valdez is on the crew that was working on the pumps Wednesday night and again early Thursday. He was standing on one of the pump units when it started slipping into the water after the levee collapsed.
"I hurried up and jumped off it and got to stable ground," Valdez said. "To see this all happen, it's not fun at all."
Several residents said their own preventative measures might have gotten them through the worst of the flooding threat if not for the Thursday morning breach.
"We've moved our pictures into the RV. We put a lot of stuff in there to protect it," said Delores Devaul, whose house is on 5900 West. "Two days ago there was no water in the back field. And today we have a river in the backyard."
The worst case scenario: "We could have a foot and a half to two feet in the house," Devaul said.
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Written by Steve Fidel with contributions from Sarah Dallof.
