Backed-up storm drain in Cache, spillway overflow in Weber cause minor damage

LOGAN — Residents of the Country Manor subdivision had to evacuate their homes briefly Sunday after water from the storm drain system backed up into a power station.

Logan Fire Marshal Craig Humphreys told KSL NewsRadio the basements of an estimated six of the 70 homes in the subdivision were flooded with up to 3 feet of water.

But he said the evacuation was ordered because the power had to be shut off once the water entered an electrical transformer enclosure.

"It was much more of a lack of electricity than it was the water," Humphreys said.

A temporary shelter for the subdivision's residents was set up at a nearly LDS Church ward, but the evacuation order was lifted by early afternoon.

He said the flooding occurred when a small sandbag wall diverting water from a nearby river failed and caused water to back up through the storm drain system.

In Weber County, spilling from Causey Reservoir affected about 20 houses in the area of 11270 East and state Route 39, according to county sheriff's Lt. Mark Lowther.

Summer homes fill much of the neighborhood, but there are some permanent residences as well.

Lowther estimated the reservoir was overflowing its spillway at about 1,600 cubic feet per second.

Officials expect another 6 inches to a foot of water to exceed the banks by this morning.

Volunteers, jail inmates and deputies spent part of the day placing sandbags around the area, which now has an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 sandbags protecting homes.

Although they expect more water to overrun the spillway, they don't expect to fill more sandbags. Lowther says if it continues to spill over, especially if more water enters the reservoir, additional damage is unavoidable.

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