NIBLEY, Cache County — When Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. got an earful touring flood-pounded regions of northern Utah on Monday.

First, he learned about the releases from Cutler Reservoir that flooded agricultural land and drowned about a score of farmer Todd Yates' cattle near Brigham City.

Then, in a meeting at the Cache County Building in Logan, he viewed photos and heard descriptions of flood damage that hit last week, although most of the water has receded.

Farmers from Nibley seized on the opportunity to complain about the "backward" culvert that has plagued them for years. Huntsman then led a caravan of state and local officials and reporters to Nibley to see the infamous culvert themselves.

Logan and Nibley were among several stops by the governor on his visit to flood-sodden areas.

"I saw some unexpected sights," Huntsman told the Deseret Morning News in Logan, after his visit to the Brigham City region.

A lot of agricultural land was submerged, he said.

"Unfortunately, that will result in crop damage" and affect the state's important agriculture economy, he said.

"We want to stay on top of that," he added, praising actions by officials in responding to the flooding.

During the Logan meeting, Huntsman told mayors, and county and state officials Utah should stay ahead of the curve in working to prevent flood damage. He asked officials to "come up with areas of vulnerability" to additional spring flooding.

"We want to get busy on it," he added.

"This is one flood that never should have happened, governor," said Nibley Mayor Lynn Welker. "We had to sandbag a good thousand yards or more of riverbank when the flood was flowing over the fields."

Part of the problem was caused by debris upstream from town on the Blacksmith Fork River. The river slows down and spreads out when it hits the debris.

Dan Ames, a landowner in Nibley, said another problem involved "design flaws" dating to the time a bridge was built over the Blacksmith Fork River following the floods of 1983. The flaws cause water to back up during flooding, he said.

"The river needs to be dredged out, sure enough," he said.

But other actions could be taken to correct the flaws, he indicated.

"Well, I think we've got everybody in this room" who could take action, Huntsman responded.

Welker said a storm drain actually moves water from the river into farm lands during high flows.

"That drain, it runs backwards," said DeLoy Parkinson, whose property is near Ames' in Nibley.

"We do have a problem with that one drain they're talking about," said Norton Thurgood, who works with the Utah Department of Transportation's maintenance division. "We're going to address that drain."

Members of the group drove by caravan to Nibley, where residents showed Huntsman what had happened. A culvert ordinarily drains a pond of runoff water from the road, sending it into the Blacksmith Fork River, they said. But when the river is high, flood water surges through the culvert and onto the nearby farm lands.

"It just seems like every year it (flood water) gets higher and higher," Parkinson said.

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