Southern Utah wary as rain keeps falling

ST. GEORGE — Storm clouds gathered over Utah's Dixie on Saturday, bringing more rain and worry to area residents who watched the Virgin and Santa Clara rivers rise yet again.

"We've got a lot of water in both streams," said St. George Mayor Dan McArthur, who had spent the day checking on potential flood zones along the two rivers. "The water is high, but we think everything's OK."

Crews worked earlier in the week moving tons of red silt from the underpinnings of the Man O War Bridge in Bloomington. The work included using huge track hoes to dig out huge mounds of dirt from the river channel and then using it to build berms along the riverbank. Homeowners in the area left sandbags in place, just in case.

The National Weather Service issued a flood statement for Washington and Kane counties through today to remind residents that the January floods had compromised streambeds. The rivers were expected to remain within their banks, although all streams would be full, the statement said.

"However, the high flows expected through Sunday may damage temporary culverts and diversions," according to the weather service statement.

Santa Clara Mayor Dennis Drake said Saturday the high water flow in the Santa Clara River damaged some of the reconstruction work already completed in the river channel.

"We actually had to do a little track hoe work today in the channel and will continue it through Sunday," he said. "The worry is still there (for more flooding). The water is high, but we think the river should stay within its bank."

President Bush declared a federal disaster for Washington and Kane counties on Feb. 1, and teams from the Federal Emergency Management Agency set up a joint field office in St. George a few days later.

Since then, meetings have been held with 22 entities requesting federal financial assistance, and FEMA is now processing 100 potential work orders.

Because the ground in southern Utah is already saturated, any rainfall immediately puddles and the rivers begin rising. Officials have urged homeowners to purchase flood insurance, citing the potential for more water damage once spring runoff begins.

Snowpack in the Pine Valley and Kolob mountain ranges are from 300 percent to 400 percent of normal, and more snow is in the forecast for the next week.

"If it stays cold in the mountains, I think we can handle it," McArthur said. "We're going to keep a close eye on things for quite a while."

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E-mail: nperkins@desnews.com