- A Salt Lake City neighborhood faced severe flooding as a canal overflowed Saturday.
- Over 20 homes were affected with significant damage, and many lack flood insurance.
- Salt Lake County has been working on a new pump system to prevent future flooding issues.
SALT LAKE CITY — A west-side neighborhood was hit especially hard by the rain Saturday. First responders estimate more than 20 homes were flooded, some with feet of water in their basements.
The Willow Place neighborhood sits just east of the Salt Lake City airport. Between the homes and I-215 runs a drainage canal built for water runoff, but Saturday, that canal overflowed into backyards — and then into the street and people's homes.
David Durr has lived in his Willow Place home for 43 years and said he's never had a problem with flooding.
"1984 came, floods came, didn't have anything like this," Durr said.
He said he's been checking in with neighbors, who have thousands of dollars in damage.
"(The) community is going to have to come together and help them. They don't have flood insurance," Durr said.
One woman said she applied for flood insurance but was denied because this area wasn't considered a flood risk.
"I don't think this amount of rain should have done this to us," Durr said.
Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County responded Saturday, alongside the Salt Lake fire department. City utility workers brought truckloads of sandbags to try and help stem the tide of water.
"We feel the residents' pain in this area. It is frustrating and we know it," said Kade Moncur, division director of Salt Lake County flood control. Salt Lake County monitors this canal and the watershed it drains into, including a series of aging water pumps that run during storms.
"And the pumps do not come on automatically, and they do not remain on. They are only there for emergency situations to move water through the system," Moncur said.
He said that out of five pumps, only two were turned on initially at about noon Saturday, then another two later in the day because of maintenance needs and concern for more flooding downstream. A project to replace these pumps with a new system has begun but won't be completed for at least another year.
Moncur said his team was stretched thin during the downpour Saturday and worked through the night clearing drains all over the county.
"And so, it's always this balancing act of how much water can we push safely without causing problems in other areas," Moncur said.
If you are experiencing flooding in Salt Lake City, experts recommend you reach out to Salt Lake City dispatch at 801-483-6700.
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Sarah Martin
