Spring runoff has arrived with rising temperatures and the Wasatch snowpack hitting its peak in many places.
After last year’s record winter, the reservoirs that help manage the Wasatch Front’s water supplies are full and the once-dry soils are saturated. With another above-average winter giving way to warmer temperatures, the snowmelt has to go somewhere.
Salt Lake County officials predict the Jordan River will run cold, high and fast through the summer as it delivers significant amounts of water to the Great Salt Lake. Utah Lake has reached a point that requires officials to open the spigot to the Jordan River to prevent lake levels from rising further.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) The dark waters of Mill Creek combine with the flow of the Jordan River on Wednesday, April 17, 2024.
Even if the river’s flows are higher than normal, the county’s flood control and watershed experts believe flooding risk will remain relatively low based on long-term weather forecasts and expected gradual melting.
“The biggest issue we’re seeing right now is the releases from Utah Lake to the Jordan River,” county flood control director Kade Moncur told the County Council on Tuesday. “Anywhere between 800 and 1,500 [cubic feet per second], and that’s double of what we saw last year, right? Already we’re seeing more water in the Jordan River than we did see last year.”
The amount of water locked in the Wasatch Range’s snowpack sits at 130% of normal.
The two high-elevation reservoirs in the Jordan River Basin, Jordanelle and Deer Creek, are already full from last year’s record-breaking season. Utah Lake, where the headwaters of the Jordan River are managed by pumps and gates, is at a level where it cannot store any more water.
Utah Lake’s gates are already open and letting water into the Jordan River, so as more snow melts, Moncur expects to see the river run higher and harder than it is now.
County officials predict peak flows on the river and its tributaries, like Emigration Creek and Mill Creek, will come earlier than usual. High water has already closed parts of the Jordan River Trail.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) The dark waters of Mill Creek combine with the flow of the Jordan River on Wednesday, April 17, 2024.
Officials hope that warm stretches of weather are punctuated by cooler temps so the snow doesn’t melt all at once. For now, forecasts are cooperating.
“We like the water. We want it to come down. We want it to come down in a managed fashion and all things are pointing to that at this moment,” said Bob Thompson, the county’s watershed manager. “But we do expect it, like always, to be high, fast and cold, so safety is always an issue.”
The worst-case scenario, Moncur, the flood control director, said, would be if the basin saw 10 days in a row with highs over 90 degrees in June. A stretch like that could lead to flooding but, for now, it’s looking unlikely.
Regardless, county officials say they’re better prepared than they were last year. They’ve cleared debris from creeks and dredged 10 detention basins countywide. At Parleys and Emigration creeks, flood control officials have deployed equipment to deal with any excess runoff.
County officials also warned residents to use caution and keep children and pets away from water when recreating near creeks and on the Jordan River Trail.
