Repairs to an access road leading to the broken levee near Warren are completed and repair to the levee will begin today.
Weber County Sheriff’s Lt. Mark Lowther said work on repairing the muddy road was completed about 3 a.m. this morning.
The levee, near 5900 West and 400 North, initially broke last week due to the constant pressure of high water on the Weber River.
One-ton sandbags were airlifted into place Friday by Utah National Guard helicopters, but by Sunday, the water had broken through the sand bags and continued to dump uncontrolled water into a small canal and flooding fields.
The Utah Department of Transportation responded to assist the road reconstruction, and will continue to work on the break by using a method called sheet piling to try to close the gap.
“They take big heavy section of steel and drive them into the ground,” Lowther said. “Basically, make like a metal curtain.”
Lowther said he is more optimistic about this new plan than others that have failed. He said this is the most solid solution so far, but they still have to be concerned about more of the levee continuing to wash away and widening the large gap.
This effort to repair the levee is being funded by the state. Gov. Gary Herbert announced Tuesday night that an additional $200,000 in emergency funding has been authorized to the county for flooding efforts. The funds are being used to repair the access road, along with providing a giant crane, trucks, and steel posts to assist with the sheet piling.
Water levels in the affected areas have gone down over the last few days, Lowther said, and no homes have reported any flooding yet.
The National Weather Service reports that a flood warning will remain in affect until this afternoon for the Weber River, indicating flooding is either occurring or imminent.
Comments