- Salt Lake County leaders explained drainage system operations after Rose Park's severe flooding.
- Salt Lake County Flood Control Division Director Kade Moncur noted four out of five pumps were activated during the event.
- Moncur described the area's geography as challenging and acknowledged the extraordinary flooding.
SALT LAKE CITY — County leaders are explaining how a drainage system worked when a Rose Park neighborhood experienced severe flooding on Saturday.
Saturday's deluge filled city storm drains and eventually, several homes.
"The water is all the way to our knees, and all our childhood memories, everything's gone," said Hanh Ly, whose home flooded.
The drainage ditch behind Ly's home overflowed, causing the flood.
"This rainstorm really just concentrated right above the Rose Park area and dropped a massive amount of water," Salt Lake County Flood Control Division Director Kade Moncur said.
He said four out of five of the county's pumps were manually turned on.
"We started getting phone calls around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday that we're seeing rising water levels," Moncur said. "We were there within 20 minutes."
The two electric pumps turn on instantly; the diesel pumps take longer. The fifth is used for parts.
"I think sometimes there's this idea that the pumps are there to prevent flooding," Moncur said. "Though that would be nice, these pumps are there to keep water moving through the system."
Moncur explained that the water was fighting the area's geography.
"It has very little slope," he said.
He said, though the pumps are old and will be upgraded soon, they operated like they should have. The system was no match for the water.
There was so much water that the storm drain stopped functioning.
–Kade Moncur, Salt Lake County Flood Control
"I think about it like a bathtub that really is taking a long time to drain," Moncur said. "There was so much water that the storm drain stopped functioning."
He said the Rose Park Westpointe area is notorious for flooding. However, Moncur admitted Saturday's event was extraordinary.
"I wish we could prevent flooding, but that is just not possible," he said. "So, if these pumps did not exist, then we would have a longer lasting flood that would drains significantly slower."
