Businesses prepare for flooding near Cottonwood canyons
Apr 5, 2023, 6:59 PM | Updated: Apr 17, 2023, 11:50 am
SALT LAKE CITY — Flooding is top of mind in many cities, especially in Cottonwood Heights, which sits at the bottom of Big and Little Cottonwood canyons. That’s why one business has ordered specialized equipment they believe will be needed in the coming days and weeks.
“It has been a crazy year for our public works team, they have been plowing nonstop,” Lindsay Wilcox, Cottonwood Heights spokesperson said.But now the city is going straight from snow removal to flooding preparation.
They have a huge pile of sand that will be available to residents at its Public Works Department, starting on Thursday and Friday from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. and on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“We are already preparing for flooding. We are worried about that, but we also know we have a plan in place and we have been preparing residents,” Wilcox said. “Our public works teams are monitoring the levels of the creeks daily and monitoring the snowpack levels.”
And at the Harris Ace Hardware store in Cottonwood Heights, owner John Harris is also preparing for flooding. In the front of his store he has organized a section dedicated to flooding equipment, where he has on hand specialized equipment he believes will prove to be very valuable in the coming days or weeks.
“These are gas-powered sump pumps, and these are hoses. You have 25 feet of intake, 75 feet of discharge plus the filters. This one will pump 9,000 gallons an hour,” he said.
Other equipment includes roof rakes to get the snow off of roofs, floor squeegees, wet and dry Shop Vacs, rain gutter supplies to get the water away from homes and 60-pound sandbags. John says it’s only a matter of time before the flooding happens.
“With temperatures climbing and hitting temperatures in the 70s in the next five or six days, it’s the perfect storm here it comes,” he said.
But Harris says no one is complaining about all the snow we’ve had because that’s exactly what Utah needed.
“I love it. I absolutely love it. Here’s why- we need the water,” he said.
