Weber River Running High, Officials “Cautiously Optimistic” About Flooding Potential
Apr 22, 2019, 7:24 PM | Updated: 7:26 pm
WEBER COUNTY, Utah — Snowmelt runoff will rise this week in creeks and rivers in Utah as the temperature rises.
Emergency management officials in Weber County are keeping a close eye on several problem spots. Right now, emergency management officials do not expect flooding. But, they’re tracking some very high water.
“We’re watching the Weber River. We’re watching South Fork really close. We’re keeping a close eye on the Ogden,” said Lance Peterson, Weber County Emergency Management Director.
The rivers are roaring as they flow through Ogden on the way to the Great Salt Lake. The Ogden River is running high, 1000 CFS, all the way from Pineview Reservoir to where it joins the Weber River in town.
Utah rivers and streams rising this week with warmer weather. Coming up at 5&6 @KSL5TV I’ll show you problem spots where Weber County officials are keeping a close eye on water levels. @BeReadyWeber @WeberCoSheriff @kslnewsradio #ksltv pic.twitter.com/3EEnGwkOSR
— Jed Boal (@jedboal) April 22, 2019
Water managers have been releasing as much water as possible from Pineview Reservoir to make room for incoming runoff, and that’s helping to fill the channel in the Ogden River, especially.
“Even though it’s running super high, it’s still got about 600 CFS that it can still take,” said Peterson. Flood stage on the Ogden River is 1600 CFS.
Early today, water rushed over the road in Ogden Canyon six to eight inches deep. A water pipe leaked, and that water combined with runoff to overwhelm a drain.
“That clogged it up with rocks and debris,” said Peterson. “UDOT came up this morning and cleaned them all out.”
Above Pineview Dam, near Eden, the North Fork of the Ogden River threatens a footbridge put in on the North Arm Trail just last summer.
“They sandbagged this as a precaution over the weekend,” said Peterson. “Not an emergency. Not flooding. But it’s close to it and they were just doing it to protect it.”
Mid-elevation snowpack is melting off, and some of the higher elevation snowpack is just starting to melt.
“We’re kind of cautiously optimistic,” said Peterson. “We’re hopeful that everything will come down nice and smooth.”
Most Utah communities are taking a similar stance. Rivers will rise and peak over the next two months.
