Civil Air Patrol cadets survey Sandy parks for storm drain debris

SANDY, Utah —At Falcon Park Thursday, the group of 10 got ready to head out on an important mission.

They were briefed on what to survey the park for: Debris like dirt, leaves and tree branches, and trash that could be clogging up storm drains around the area.

Several of the people wore camo uniforms, being part of a squadron in the Utah Wing of the Civil Air Patrol. The Civil Air Patrol is the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, made up of volunteers. One of the focuses is to provide emergency services and support communities during disasters.

The group took off as their black boots crunched on leaves in the grass, heading toward the sound of rushing water coming from storm drains.

Cadet Staff Sgt. Jack Goodman explained they were looking for “evidence of flooding, or large amounts of water buildup in an area.”

At 12 years old, he’s part of the cadet team that mapped dozens of city storm drains in many Sandy parks last weekend.

“We’ll go around, we’ll survey them, we’ll check out how it is. We’ll take pictures of any problems or anything that we have going on with it, and then we’ll write down the coordinates,” Goodman said.

“If those storm drains are clogged, that’s just long story short not good,” said Max Maurer, Civil Air Patrol cadet airman. “It’s just to help prevent flooding as best as we can.”

They turned the coordinates into Sandy City Parks and Recreation Department, so the city could send employees out to unclog and clean up the drains.

In returning to Falcon Park Thursday, some of the drains previously covered with debris were cleared off by the city, and good to go. The cadets walked around, remapping the progress and checking water flows.

“It allowed Sandy City to get a snapshot of what was going on in their parks,” Shannon Babb, public affairs officer for the Utah Wing of the Civil Air Patrol said. “They didn’t have to send out additional personnel to check every storm drain, because they knew the cadets had already gotten it done. And they only had to go and clean the storm drains that needed attention.”

She explained that in addition to providing real help to Sandy, storm drain mapping allowed the cadets to build on-the-ground skills like collecting data, taking pictures, mapping and effectively communicating over the radio.

Cadets like Maurer, who is 13, live close to Falcon Park and visit frequently.

“Having the ability for them to use their skills to benefit their community is incredibly empowering,” Babb said. “It gets them excited about learning about their communities and then taking other actions.”

Cadet Staff Sgt. Goodman knows from personal experience why this work is important.

“My whole house flooded,” he said. This was a few years ago, he said, and the flood heavily damaged his family’s basement and part of the main floor.

“It was scary, honestly. We had to be out of our house for a little while,” Goodman said.

He and the others are hoping the work they did across the parks will prevent others from going through the same experience.

They’re also hoping people will keep an eye on storm drains in their communities, and report anything they find.

“You go out and make sure that your storm drains are clear and clean, and you don’t have to deal with flooding,” Goodman said, “and you can help other people.”