Southern Utah keeping close eye on spring runoff

SPRINGDALE, Washington County — Thunderclouds gathered across Washington County again this week, reminding area residents — as if they needed to be — that spring runoff isn't very far behind.

"We're watching the gauges on the Virgin River very closely," said Rick Wixom, town manager of Springdale, an eclectic community of less than 400 permanent residents perched at the mouth of Zion National Park. "The river just seems to have an up and down cycle every day."

One of the gauges along the Virgin River near Springdale on Thursday recorded 1,600 cubic feet per second — far less than the 4,000 cubic feet per second it posted during the high water week of Jan. 6-11.

And while the Virgin River was definitely moving quickly, it wasn't cause for serious concern, Wixom said.

"The river runs pretty deep through town and the park, so unless we get a lot more water than we did in January, I think we'll be OK," he said. "We've got several hundred sandbags stockpiled and ready to go. We just weren't hit very hard in January. We had a waterline and secondary line damaged, which we're relocating."

Of deep concern for county officials is clearing debris, silt and tamarisk out of the Virgin River where it nears subdivisions and towns downstream from Springdale. An appropriations bill that includes nearly $63 million in federal funds to help pay for that work passed through the House on Thursday, Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, stated in a news release.

The Utah flood relief funds are part of an emergency military appropriations bill expected to pass quickly through the Senate next week, and then on to President Bush for his signature.

"While funding for the war in Iraq clearly rises to the level of an emergency, by approving these funds for flood relief, my colleagues also agree that in Utah we're dealing with an emergency of our own," Bennett stated in the release. "Another flood watch was issued for the area yesterday. We have to proceed expeditiously to restore these watersheds so they can properly handle future storms."

The funds will come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and its Emergency Watershed Protection program. Bennett said that Mark Rey, undersecretary of agriculture, assured him by phone that Washington County's recovery work is a top priority.

USDA technical personnel are also being assigned to oversee the rapid distribution of the funds so that rehabilitation work can immediately begin, Bennett noted.