Report on Garden City Flooding

Anita Weston, Reporter
Rich Civic Times

GARDEN CITY, Utah.  February 16, 2017.  Fire Chief Mike Wahlberg reported on the local flooding which happened a couple of weeks ago.  He said that on Friday morning at about 4:30—4:45 a.m. he responded to a call reporting that flooding was taking place at Harbor Village.  He said he was there in about 15 minutes and one of the sheriff’s deputies was there as well. There was not a breach in the canal; the water overflowed the canal banks.  The flooding at Lockwood was diverted to Highway 89. 

There was also flooding at the lower portion of Buttercup.  The residents directed the water into ditches and then under the road and into the lake.  Sand bags were taken to Azure Cove where there were also water problems.  Three homes there were flooded.

The fire department took command of the flooding.  Both Friday and Saturday many people from the community as well as from other towns came to fill sandbags.  There were various agencies helping and taking advantage of each groups’ expertise in dealing with the emergency scene.  There was especially good coordination between the city and the fire department.  

Chief Wahlberg said that colder weather will slow the flooding but he feels there will be more problems in the future.  There will be more significant rain and melting snow storms since it is only February.  The workers have left the sandbags in place so that additional water can follow the water paths that have been created.  Azure Cove gets flooding almost every year and will probably get more this year.  

Wahlberg also wanted to thank the Red Cross, the County, and other organizations that were so helpful.  He noted that Bill Cox, a County Commissioner, spent Friday here in Garden City, then worked to help some of the other towns in the County Friday night; and he was back in Garden at 6 a.m. Saturday morning to help some more.

Parson’s Construction Company donated sand and delivered it to where sandbags were being filled.  The County also delivered sand to help.  Parsons brought in an additional four loads of sand on Saturday.

The County was declared a local disaster which allowed the Red Cross to come in to assist.  Food, tools, shovels, and so forth were brought to help.

About 5,500 sand bags were filled in the two days.  Four thousand of those were filled on Friday.  About 1,500 more were filled on Saturday.  There are about 1,800 sand bags in reserve are filled and are being stored in the City Office area so that when water comes again, they will be ready for use.  There are 3,000 more bags at the City so that individuals can go and fill them as needed.

The City gave permission to breach the canal south of Logan Road.  The water was spread out on a large field.  The property owner, however, came and asked that the water be stopped from running through that area because it was too wet and muddy for the horses he had pastured in that area.  He was referred to the City to take care of that issue.

They used sandbags to patch the canal and slow down the water running onto his property. 

It was noted that owners of homes in the area should be made aware of the situation.  They should come and check their homes to make sure that they haven’t been flooded.

About a third of the individuals living in Azure Cove came and helped fill sand bags.

Chief Wahlberg noted that he felt it was a good idea to use Facebook to thank volunteers.  He noted that the Facebook technology had alerted people to the problems and is probably why so many individuals showed up to help with the sand bags.  He was very appreciative of all the help that was given and wanted to thank everyone who helped.

It was noted that there was flooding in Woodruff.  The highway was flooded in one area of the town.  Laketown had flooding on the south end of the lake.  Randolph also had flooding in their community.