by SARA UTLE
City officials in Provo and Salt Lake City are watching water levels closely due to a greater snow pack than normal in the Wasatch Mountains.
LeRoy Hooton Jr., director of public utilities for Salt Lake City, said the snow pack this year is 20 to 40 percent greater than normal in several courses in the Wasatch Mountains. However, he said this should not result in general flooding in Utah.
“It appears that the runoff is coming down gradually and in a controlled fashion. We are watching it very carefully,” Hooton said.
Heavy winter snow is just one factor that can lead to flooding.
Large snow packs, late winters, sudden high temperatures, lack of reservoir space and heavy spring rains have been the major causes of floods in Utah, Hooton said.
In preparation for the spring runoff this year, Salt Lake City’s flood control unit has prepared 10,000 sand bags, has cleared channels of debris, and has moved to round-the-clock operations, said Hooton.
“Probably, we will need to watch for localized flooding for another two or three weeks,” he said. “It would take an extreme situation to lead to flooding — at least in Salt Lake.”
Hooton added there have been some concerns about the upper Provo River and Provo city officials have been watching the area closely.
“Although we remain optimistic that there will be no problems associated with spring runoff this year, we are prepared for the worst possible scenario,” said Provo Mayor George Stewart.
Utah Lake is already full and Jordanelle and Deer Creek Reservoirs are fast approaching their limits.
Harold Ford of the Provo River Water Users Association said the water in Deer Creek Reservoir is 10 feet from the full line.
“We’re gaining 3/4 foot a day. At this rate we can probably go another 10 to 15 days without a problem,” he said.
When the reservoir is full, water will be let out to farmers. Any other water will eventually be sent to the Great Salt Lake, Ford said.
Richard Tullis, manager of operations and maintenance for the Central Utah Water Conservancy District, said the reservoir at Jordanelle is also approaching its limits.
Jordanelle Reservoir is just one of the new reservoirs opened since the floods in 1983 and, like Little Dell Reservoir in Parley’s Canyon, represents an effort by officials statewide to avoid floods of that magnitude.
