Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox says he believes the $40 million that the Utah Legislature set aside to help cover snow removal and emergency flood-related costs should cover Utah's financial needs for the rest of the fiscal year even if the current forecast could "test" pieces of the state's infrastructure over the next few weeks.
The Legislature allocated the money during a special session Wednesday, which the governor convened after he issued a state of emergency in April and the state blew past the $5 million the Utah Legislature had set aside for emergency management flood mitigation.
Cox explained that "a lot" of the funding will go "directly" to towns and cities to help them reimburse flood mitigation costs, such as filling sandbags. He believes the state will also receive requests to help cover costs associated with clearing waterways, deepening channels or removing culverts.
The governor added that he believes the money should help cover the state's emergency needs through the end of June. New funds will be made available in July with the start of the 2024 fiscal year, which would decrease the need for another special session.
"We've been looking very closely at what's happened, the money that has been spent (and) we know how much water is left in the mountains," he said, during his monthly PBS Utah news conference Thursday. "We've looked at the long-term forecast as best we can to see what we might be dealing with. We know where those trouble spots are right now and so we feel pretty good about the funding that's available."
There is an average of 10.9 inches left in the statewide snowpack as of noon Thursday, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service. That means nearly two-thirds of Utah's record 30-inch statewide snowpack has now melted.
Cox reiterated that areas of central and northern Utah are at the highest risk of flooding right now because most of the snowpack in southern Utah is gone. For example, the agency said there are still 59.7 inches of snowpack at its Snowbird site, which flows into Little Cottonwood Canyon.
The National Weather Service still has an active flood warning in place for the Sevier River in south-central Utah, where "moderate flooding" is likely to continue at points through May 26. However, the rest of the agency's flood warnings, advisories and watches in Utah cover areas near streams, creeks and rivers in the northern, central and eastern parts of the state.
Flooding risks, meteorologists say, will continue into at least mid-June.
It isn't the only concern, though, as the Utah Geological Survey has recently responded to about a half-dozen landslides and mudslides in canyons across northern Utah, Cox said. He adds that the state agency is also tracking about 100 "landslide-prone" areas statewide. This comes as the state's average soil saturation level is up to 83%, the highest on record since at least 2006.
"We know the temperatures are rising and the next week or two will test some of our infrastructure," Cox said. "In addition to flooding, we're concerned about mudslides and landslides. ... We are seeing these record snowpack levels soaking the ground, leaving little room for additional runoff, which is causing unstable soil conditions in many of our canyons and other places throughout Utah."
Two homes in Draper were destroyed in a landslide last month, though both had been condemned months before the slide. Cox said Thursday that it might be "worth looking at" reforming the power that developers have in constructing in landslide-prone areas, especially after Draper Mayor Troy Walker said his city did its due diligence under state law before approving the homes that were destroyed.
Cox said the state is trying to find the right "balance" so that cities aren't simply denying every building permit request, while also reducing the risk of building in risky areas.
While the flooding and landslide risks are still high in certain areas, the governor also celebrated what the snowmelt is doing for the state's reservoir system. Utah's reservoir system capacity, minus Flaming Gorge and Lake Powell, is up to 67.4% full, only 0.2% below the normal for this point in the water year, according to Utah Division of Water Resources data.
The system is expected to continue to fill up in the coming weeks, though Cox said it shouldn't change any efforts to reduce water consumption.
"This is, I believe, a literal godsend ... but Lake Powell is not going to fill this year, the Great Salt Lake is not even going to (reach) average this year," he said. "I don't know if next year is going to be as bad as the years before or if it's going to be another really wet year."
