Volunteers pitch in as runoff waters flow down Santaquin road

SANTAQUIN — Spring runoff flowed down a city street Wednesday, prompting volunteers to join sandbagging efforts as emergency managers said the road was functioning as planned.

According to neighbors, water began moving down Brookside Drive, near Fox Run Avenue, around midnight.

"They were here with the city crews by about 6 a.m. ... and by 8 a.m., it had gone out on Facebook pages around the city," said volunteer Chris Hess. "That's what brought out a lot of the volunteers we've had today."

By midday, layers of sandbags lined Brookside Drive and waters were moving in a controlled manner around a bend and down to a nearby reservoir.

"They haven't seen water like this in years — you know, over a couple decades," Santaquin Police Sgt. Mike Wall told KSL-TV. "People probably look at this and think, 'Holy crap, we're flooding.' Well really, we're not. This is designed the way it's working."

Wall said the road remained one of the priority areas the city was monitoring as temperatures rise and runoff waters flow down from the neighboring mountains to the east.

"Now if it turns real hot real fast, obviously we're going to have to prepare for even more water then," Wall said. "They can add more sandbags or whatever, and it's not a hindrance to traffic because there are alternative routes into those homes."

Wall said the city had prepared 16,000 sandbags for anticipated runoff issues in the area. He also noted that Provo and Spanish Fork crews had offered their assistance.

Hess said neighbors had been steadily contributing to the sandbag stockpile over the past couple months.

"For about six weeks, we've been out every weekend loading sandbags up, and we've stored them over here at the soccer field," Hess said.

Hess acknowledged the unsettling appearance of runoff waters flowing down a road and through a community of town houses.

"There's still a lot of water up in those canyons, and with the temperature coming up, that's definitely on our minds," Hess said.

He also expressed confidence in the plan and the manpower available in the event waters continue to rise in the coming days.

"We've got a lot of work-from-home dads and a lot of other good community members who have shown up to help today and heeded the call," Hess said.

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