Wasatch Front communities brace for more flood issues

Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY — Rising waters prompted several cities into action Wednesday night.

Logan's mayor ordered a restriction on recreational use on the Logan River. He took action after four people had to swim out of the river when their inflatable raft lost air. They were not wearing life jackets.

Salt Lake County

The National Weather Service warned Wednesday of potential flooding along Little Cottonwood Creek because of warmer temperatures that have increased the snowmelt.

The creek was expected to reach flood flows in the evening hours, but the warning remains in effect through 10 p.m. Friday.

Bank erosion and threats to infrastructure could occur along the creek from its headwaters and as it passes through Sandy. The creek dumps into Jordan River, which is also running high.

"We're nowhere near our peak," said Capt. Jeff Ellis, with the Murray Fire Department. He was on the creek in Murray Park Wednesday for swiftwater rescue training.

"Even since yesterday when we were out here training, it's up over a foot; and we're expecting even higher water tomorrow," Ellis said.

Not far away, Scott Avenue Park is closed, as crews clean up flood debris and tighten up security at a flood gate. For the second time in a week in Salt Lake County, a vandal tampered with flood gates to deliberately cause flooding.

Weber County

Elsewhere along the Wasatch Front, Gov. Gary Herbert has announced an additional $200,000 for flood control efforts along the Weber River. Flooding in western Weber County is threatening homes and has damaged dairy farms. High river flows have caused several breaches in levees.

The state Division of Emergency Management received word Wednesday that the Weber County town of Uintah declared an emergency because of flooding along the Weber River, which is also posing problems to a large gravel pit in neighboring South Weber.

The two communities at the mouth of Weber Canyon have been battling the high flows from the river before it meets up with the Ogden River and dumps into the Great Salt Lake.

Also Wednesday, Ogden City leaders announced they will put volunteers along the Ogden River to warn people about flooding danger. Davis County

In Davis County, they're worried about high water from the Weber River leaking into a Staker Parson Companies gravel pit. Residents who live in the Riverdale neighborhood below are being told to be ready to evacuate, and to have a 72 hour kit ready.

Josh Gibbons, who lives in that area, told KSL News he was hearing the warning for the first time. "If that fills up," he said, pointing toward the gravel pit, "we're so close to it, what are the chances of it making it to our neighborhood and flooding it out?"

The pool in the pit could be water from a broken irrigation pipe, or the river. If it's coming from the river, it could fill the pit in a day and wash into neighborhoods.

"In the event that it was the worst case scenario coming from the river, we wanted to make sure that we acted quickly," said Sgt. Susan Poulson, with the Davis County Sheriff's Office.

County officials still have not determined the source of the breach in the gravel pit. People will be notified by reverse 911 if they need to clear out. [CLICK HERE for more information from Davis County]

Daggett County

On Tuesday, Daggett County commissioners also declared an emergency because of a rock and mudslide that choked off a portion of a main thoroughfare, county Highway 1364.

Although one lane is open, Daggett County Commissioner Jerry Steglich said any further movement in the slide could pose serious economic problems for the area, which is home to the Utah portion of Flaming Gorge Dam.

The highway provides access to the Green River for a wide variety of outdoor activities, including fly-fishing and river rafting.

In addition, the slide occurred below a Questar natural gas pipeline, which Steglich said has been inspected by the utility company and deemed structurally safe.

The county, however, lacks some of the heavy equipment necessary to clear the large boulders on the roadway.

If the highway was completely cut off, residents could use an alternative route through Jessie Ewing Canyon, but the declaration says the road is "extremely steep and has not been maintained."

Other alternatives that would link residents of the Brown's Park area to emergency services and the courthouse in Manila would involve detours of up to 200 miles, Steglich said.

"They (state officials) can see we have safety concerns," he said.

-----

Written by Jed Boal and Amy Joi O'Donoghue.