Flooding threat fades, what to do with all of those Sandbags?
Jun 16, 2023, 10:20 PM | Updated: 10:57 pm
DRAPER, Utah — With the flooding threat likely behind us, what are we supposed to do with all of those sandbags?
Wet sandbags sure do weigh a lot. However, Ashley Jensen was happy to be giving them back.
It was a lot scarier when she was picking them up.
“Oh, my goodness. So grateful. We are so glad we had bags because it was very much a peace of mind thing,” she said.
Jensen and her family live along Willow Creek in Draper.
A steady stream of people dropped off their sandbags at this Draper location Friday. (Alex Cabrero/KSL TV)
With as much snow as there was in the mountains, her neighborhood was one of many along the Wasatch Front that had a lot of people worried about flooding.
Sandbags seemed to be the most popular lawn decoration as winter turned to spring.
“They were all the way up and down the street on both sides and it took a big community effort to get all those bags out,” said Jensen.
It was like that in cities and communities throughout Utah, especially along the Wasatch Front.
It seems like the threat of major flooding is behind us. Today, Salt Lake County opened some locations for people to return sandbags if they no longer want them. Those I spoke with say it's a relief after so much concern. @KSL5TV at 10. Locations: https://t.co/3jNC1RjwOC pic.twitter.com/EXeDnw3Nxo
— Alex Cabrero (@KSL_AlexCabrero) June 17, 2023
Many cities held sandbag-filling events so anyone who wanted sandbags could get them.
“I was worried,” said Robert Lively, who lives in West Jordan. “I have some neighbors who had some water get into their window wells and into their basements, so I just wanted to make sure I had the sandbags on hand ready to go if I needed them.”
Because of the gradual warm-up this spring, though, most communities along the Wasatch Front didn’t see any major flooding.
That’s why, starting Friday, some locations, like this one in Draper, as well as Sugarhouse, South Salt Lake, and Millcreek, opened for people to bring back any sandbags they didn’t want.
The idea is to give people a place to drop off sandbags, so they don’t get dumped in Rivers, streams, canals, or the side of the road.
Salt Lake County will open more locations next week on the West side of Salt Lake City, Murray, Cottonwood Heights, Sandy, and Taylorsville.
“We’re just so happy that we didn’t need them,” said Jensen. “We got a note from Draper City saying the peak season has passed and it is okay to dispose of your bags. What a relief.”
A Salt Lake County spokesperson also said people could still pick up sandbags from the drop-off piles if they wanted.
Sandbag drop-off locations can be found here.
