CENTERVILLE — Mayor Michael Deamer has been having visions of the past, and it's not a good thing.

He's been picturing the floods of 1983. The late-night labors to save neighbors' homes and back yards. The mud and muck.

Back then, parts of Centerville were transformed into muddy lakes because ancient drainage systems couldn't handle the flow of water.

While Deamer says the city is better prepared for floods now, the century-old drainage system that failed in '83 still haunts him. He's upset enough that the city has threatened a lawsuit against the company that he says helped cause the problem: Union Pacific.

The Utah Transit Authority has also received strongly worded threats.

"There's a tremendous amount of frustration in the city regarding what we understand to be clogged culverts under the Union Pacific railroad west of the freeway," said Deamer. "The culverts are damaged and collapsed; some are full of muck and garbage."

With snowpack equivalent to 1983 — and unpredictable April weather — he's worried the damage could cause unnecessary flooding. Water could pool in low areas of the city where homes have now been built.

It could also cause flooding along the railroad tracks beside I-15, where UTA is planning to build commuter rail within feet of the Union Pacific line.

Plans for commuter rail have brought the issue to a critical point, said city engineer Fred Campbell. UTA should begin filling a ditch between I-15 and Union Pacific before the end of summer to prepare for construction of the track. It's a place where water has pooled in the past.

"It's a major problem to Centerville," said Campbell, who works for ESI engineering.

The city has been talking with UTA since June 2003, hoping to persuade it to pay for some culvert replacements during commuter-rail construction.

Talks with Union Pacific have extended longer, Deamer said.

After two threatening letters — which cited statute allowing cities to order railroads to clean culverts — the company sent workers with a backhoe to remove debris from a ditch alongside Union Pacific track.

But Deamer said the work was done too late. Now he wants culverts to be replaced or upgraded before June, when floods may hit.

He's calling on UTA to join the city.

Steve Meyer, manager of commuter rail construction for UTA, said the authority is working to find a solution. Representatives traveled to Omaha, Neb., last week to meet with Union Pacific. They're studying the culvert issue with the Utah Department of Transportation.

UTA has also agreed to put the same size pipe under commuter rail that is pushed under Union Pacific, Meyer said.

"Everyone realizes that now is the time to work it out, and we'll continue to work on it," he said.

But he admits a lawsuit could hold up the 2008 completion date for commuter rail.

"It's a concern anytime," he said. "I would hate to see one community . . . we're working with stand in the way of getting it built."

If the issue isn't resolved within the coming weeks, Deamer says he will will file suit against Union Pacific, and possibly against UTA.

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E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com