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GARLAND, Utah (AP) -- PacifiCorp Energy has warned residents along the Bear River in Box Elder County of potential flooding.
A warning of possible high water was sent to Garland officials Tuesday, Mayor Richard Owen said.
The city and surrounding areas were hit by flooding from the Bear River last year, causing trouble with the city's sewage and water systems. Bishop said the city has taken steps to prevent those problems from happening again.
PacifiCorp spokesman Dave Eskelsen said Cutler Dam's output hit a high of 6,600 cubic feet per second on Tuesday, which is above the 6,000 cfs threshold at which the Bear River is considered to be full. The flow was lower on Wednesday.
He said Cutler Dam was built to generate electricity and help with irrigation. Its use for flood control is limited because the reservoir holds only 15,000 acre feet and the federal government strictly regulates how high or low the water in it can be.
At peak flows last year, enough water was coming in to completely fill the reservoir in 24 hours. Outflow last year peaked around 9,000 cubic feet per second.
Eskelsen said PacifiCorp is especially concerned that this year's runoff, already predicted to be big, could be made worse by a thunderstorm in Cache County -- as happened last year.
PacifiCorp owns the hydroelectric projects on the Bear River.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
