Minor flooding expected in areas along Weber River in Summit County this week
Jun 4, 2024, 10:29 PM | Updated: Jun 6, 2024, 6:10 am
COALVILLE, Summit County — Areas of two RV parks and acres of farmland were flooded Tuesday as the Weber River swelled with runoff waters.
Water managers said they anticipated the potential for more minor flooding in Coalville as well as Wanship, Oakley and Peoa through the week with hot temperatures finally arriving.
“There’s definitely going to be some minor flooding — we’ve seen minor flooding already,” said Scott Paxman, general manager and CEO of the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District. “It’s going to hit the 90s for several days. That means the high-level snows, up in the Uintas, up in the higher elevations, are going to come down fairly quickly.”
Paxman said water managers were regularly monitoring the situation and were working with neighboring areas to reduce the potential for flooding as much as possible.
Jeff Budge, general manager of Provo River Water Users Association, said his organization agreed on Tuesday to increase flows from the Weber River toward Provo by about 600 cubic feet per second, as well as additional peaks to help control the downstream flow.
According to Budge, that wasn’t expected to cause any issues as the water made its way toward Utah Lake.
Paxman said the areas that could be impacted were mostly within about 100 feet of the Weber River in the areas specified.
“We’re going to see some subbing of the groundwater as well as some over-topping of the river banks — very slightly, but over-topping of the river banks,” Paxman said. “Mostly it’s grass or alfalfa fields. There’s no, really, homes or structures in that area.”
A couple of RV parks near the Coalville I-80 exit saw flooding issues Tuesday.
At Echo Island RV Resort, it appeared sections of the park were not usable due to the flood waters.
“Yesterday that creek bed was 3 feet lower than it was — like comfortable for a kid to play in,” said visitor Jake McKeachnie. “Now, it’s dangerous and fearful for a kid to play in.”
He and other visitors were uncertain what the coming days would bring, but they hoped they wouldn’t see flooding that was any more significant than it already was with temperatures rising.
“I don’t know — hopefully it doesn’t get any worse,” McKeachnie said. “I just know it’s not going to help. We’ll put it that way.”