North Ogden, Kaysville hit by flooding due to blocked storm drains
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- Flood damage attributed to the city’s storm water system necessitated the evacuation of dozens of homes overnight.
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- This photo shows flooding in North Ogden in the area of 1700 North and Fruitland Drive brought on by heavy snowmelt and a blocked storm drain. The photo was posted Wednesday, April 12, 2023, on the North Ogden Facebook page.
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- Part of the hill apparently started eroding along the northbound onramp to U.S. 89 near state Route 193 in Layton, shown here, according to South Weber resident Paul Sturm. He first noticed the erosion, possibly caused by snowmelt, on Tuesday, April 11, 2023.
NORTH OGDEN — Melting snow from the record snowpack is starting to have an impact in some of the cities along the Wasatch Front.
In North Ogden, a blocked storm drain on Fruitland Drive near 1700 North backed up, flooding Fruitland Drive in the area, which has been closed to traffic.
“Crews have been working all night. The storm drain is still blocked, however we have rerouted the storm water around the block drain and put it back in its original storm channel,” Jon Call, the North Ogden city attorney, told the Standard-Examiner on Wednesday morning. At this time, he’s not aware of flooding of basements caused by draining surface water.
Call said officials are bracing for the possibility of more flooding. “Our other concerns are with the other canyons in the area just because we are seeing so much water come off the hills,” he said.
Numerous volunteers are helping with sandbagging to prepare as more and more snow melts.
In Kaysville, several homes were evacuated in the Orchard Ridge subdivision due to issues with the storm drainage system, which led to a massive sinkhole. The Kaysville Public Works Department, first responders and the Davis County Sheriff’s Office all helped to evacuate residents overnight, according to a statement from the city.
Additionally, the flooding has led to suspension of operations at the city’s self-filling sandbag station at the Kaysville City Operations Center.
The statement adds that there isn’t an immediate threat for widespread flooding in the city.
“The city is NOT in direct threat of significant flooding within the city limits at this time, although localized instances of flooding may continue to occur, this incident appears, at first blush, to be the result of a blocked storm drainage system,” the statement read.
Around 3:26 p.m., the Kaysville Facebook page shared an update on the situation.
“Kaysville City crews have temporarily rerouted storm water,” the update read. “Due to continued water flow, please avoid the area. Public utilities in Orchard Ridge area will remain shut off until further notice. City crews will be on site monitoring the situation. The City will provide updates when new information becomes available.”
The flooding in Kaysville comes on the heels of a mudslide that occurred in the 100 block of South Mountain Road in Fruit Heights on Saturday.
According to the Kaysville Fire Department’s Facebook page, several residents were entrapped by the slide and quickly rescued. Two injuries were reported with one person being transported to an area hospital with moderate injuries while the second person was treated at the scene and released.
A barn was reportedly destroyed in the slide but no residences were damaged.
Reporter Rob Nielsen contributed to this story.