April Showers Bring Flood Warnings
A couple days ago, it snowed. Twice in one day. As I sit in my office right now, the rain is pouring down. For Utah, this is a lot of precipitation. Experts in Salt Lake City are saying we could get even more snow this spring. This is on top of what is already the deepest snowpack since 2011. On the positive side, we should have an ample water supply this year. It does mean the risk of flooding is up.
How Does a Desert Flood?
Utah is a desert, as everyone knows. Deserts are dry. So how can a desert flood? A bit part of it is what we call Drywash.
Because the soil doesn’t get regular moisture – especially when it’s warmer – it packs down hard. This means that it doesn’t absorb water very quickly. What can’t be absorbed by the soil simply rushes on, carried by gravity towards the lowest and flattest point it can find. As a result, when we do get a lot of water, it tends to build up above the soil very quickly.
What Are The Risks?
The main cause of flooding in areas like Cache Valley and Salt Lake City is from melting snow. In Cache Valley, nearly all of the water that we use comes from snow in the mountains. When there is more snow than usual, it fills up our reservoirs and rivers faster than we can manage it. This causes them to overflow. Once they do, the water just slides away out of control because the soil can’t absorb it. This means that even if you don’t live anywhere near a river, it’s possible for a flood to reach you.
Unexpected rainfall also causes flooding. Our roads, gutters, and drainage systems are built to handle a certain amount of rainfall. When a storm drops more precipitation than normal, that extra water overflows and spreads into nearby houses and businesses.
There are ways to prepare. We’ve already written an article on flood preparation, so we encourage you to read that. Since it looks like the risks are higher this year, now would be a good time to take some of those precautions.
Flood Cleanup
Our flood cleanup services will come in useful if you find yourself getting flooded because of the extra moisture we’re getting this year. Our fast response will help you get it under control before it can do lasting damage to your home and we go out of our way to locate where the water is getting in and stop it. Then we’ll bring in our dehumidifiers and wet vacs to make sure your house is dry as a bone before we leave.
If you need help cleaning up a flood, then don’t hesitate to contact us. If you live anywhere from Idaho Falls to Salt Lake City, we have offices nearby and can get to you within 60 minutes to ensure that the flooding does as little damage as possible to your home.