One of Salt Lake City’s chief flood fighters didn’t have to go far to get a taste of the ravaging runoff from record snowpack.
Jesse Stewart, deputy director of the city’s Public Utilities Department, was making coffee in his Wasatch Hollow home just after 5 a.m. Wednesday, when flashing red and blue lights outside his home caught his attention.
After hearing what sounded like rain, he peeked through his kitchen window. His driveway was dry, but the street was glistening.
“I walk outside in my bare feet, wishing it was a waterline break, honest to God, but soon realized it wasn’t,” he said in a Friday interview. “So I ran back inside, put some socks and shoes on, and made my way up the street as fast as I could, getting my phone out to make calls.”
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Jesse Stewart, deputy director of the Salt Lake City Public Utilities Department, puts on his work boots after spending days managing runoff through Wasatch Hollow Park, Friday, April 14, 2023.
Stewart, whose department works with Salt Lake County officials to oversee flood control efforts, stood in ankle-deep water while phoning in some of the earliest calls in what would be the first flood response of the runoff season in Utah’s capital.
No luck with the first round of calls — they all went to voicemail as he woke everybody up.
“No one’s probably ever really had this thought before, but I thought to myself, ‘Am I actually awake at this point?’” he said. “Then I soon realized that I was awake and that I was going to have a very interesting day.”
Salt Lake City’s first surge of flooding sent water from Emigration Creek flowing through Wasatch Hollow, prompting emergency orders from the city and county, calls for voluntary evacuations of about 100 homes, and a volunteer effort to steer water back into the creek.
Living so close to the flow was helpful, Stewart said, because he was on the scene and able to tell key players what was happening.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Crews temporarily stop water flow as they lay down material to reduce erosion across 1700 South in Salt Lake City amid ongoing efforts to safely channel runoff from Emigration Creek through Wasatch Hollow Park, Friday, April 14, 2023.
“Once I called, it was a pretty darn fast reaction,” he said, “to get everybody mobilized and get equipment on-site.”
But that rapid response wasn’t by accident, officials say. It came from strategic planning.
In the two days since the surge began, Stewart has gotten only a little sleep. His dogs are wound up by all the activity in front of his house. It’s been a lot of work, but he appreciates how well the city and county have worked together.
“It’s kind of been a cooperative effort as far as leading the response and now leading the assessment of what’s going on,” he said. “Once we get things fully resolved, it’ll be the recovery from that.”
Despite the dramatic flows, no major property damage was reported, though three homes suffered minor water damage.
By Thursday afternoon, the worst of the flooding — for now, at least — had ended, sandbagging had wrapped, and the voluntary evacuation had lifted.
A suspected clog in the system, however, had yet to be fixed.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Jesse Stewart, deputy director of Salt Lake City Public Utilities Department, overlooks efforts to get Emigration Creek under control on Friday, April 14, 2023.
Stewart declined to speculate when flows near Wasatch Hollow would return to normal because he couldn’t guarantee when the issue would be resolved. Because the suspected blockage is underwater, it has been inaccessible to crews.
Workers will, however, reinforce the makeshift channel that is directing floodwaters into Emigration Creek, the deputy director said, and leave most of the sandbags along 1700 South and 1500 East in case the streets are needed to handle flows again.
“That will be in place until the restriction in the discharge line in Emigration Creek,” he said, “is fully addressed.”
