This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
St. George • The financial toll from December flooding that washed out bridge abutments, inundated a golf course, destroyed trails and roads and eroded stream banks here could amount to $20 million.
Peter Kuhlman, emergency services director for Washington County, said he spent part of last week showing the damage to representatives of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) so they could determine projects that qualify for government assistance.
The cost of about 130 projects on a list for possible repairs totals around $20 million.
Kuhlman said representatives of the Natural Resources and Conservation Service (NRCS), which cleared channels and built up stream banks after costly flooding in 2005, have been conducting similar evaluations.
Kuhlman said the earlier work, designed to handle a 500-year event, made a big difference in limiting damage this time, even though flows were equal to or exceeded what came down the Virgin and Santa Clara rivers in the 2005 deluge.
"Here we've had two 500-year events in the past five years, so we should be good for 1,000 years," Kuhlman joked.
Brian Hyer, a spokesman with the state Department of Public Safety's Division of Homeland Security, said Utah asked for assistance from FEMA last week after a preliminary damage assessment by Washington County. Once the scope of the damage is assessed, a dollar figure will be placed on it, probably later this month, and the state will likely ask the Obama administration to declare the flood a disaster so the funds can be released.
Ed Conley, a member of the FEMA team, said officials were surprised by the extent of the flooding.
"We're finding a lot more damage than we anticipated," said Conley, who praised county officials for providing an initial assessment of the damage.
He said FEMA could be responsible for repairing much of the damage to publicly owned land, but not property that is privately insured.
"We're looking at key infrastructure like roads, bridges, electric systems, trails and even golf courses," he said.
Conley said the team also visited Kane County, where heavy snowfall caused power outages of up to two weeks on Cedar Mountain.
Kane County Sheriff Lamont Smith said infrastructure in Glendale and Orderville, including roads and a bridge, was also damaged.
Ron Whitehead, Washington County engineer, said the little town of Gunlock lost part of the water system that feeds the town water tank. It is among potential projects on the $20 million list. Until it is repaired, a fire engine from a neighboring town is parked in Gunlock in case of fire.
Farther north, in Enterprise, the road leading to the reservoir needs to be repaired.
Many projects on the list involve protecting banks and removing sediment.
Bronson Smart, state conservationist with the NRCS, said his team descended on the area as the flooding was happening at the request of the Washington County Commission. He said his agency is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and can request funds directly from its office in Washington, D.C., without an emergency declaration from the president.
"We've been doing assessments the past few weeks, and what we did in 2005 is holding up well," he said.
NRCS spokesman Ron Francis said $1 million has already been sent by the agency to mitigate damage and that the 2005 work was a valuable investment.
"It probably saved about $179 million," he said, quoting the price tag on damage from the 2005 event.
Costly repairs
These are some of about 130 potential repair projects resulting from flood damage in Washington County in December:
St. George • Clean out sediment deposited at a bridge near a golf course, repair bank under walkway/golf cart path, and restore part of the rock lining on bank near Man O' War Bridge across Virgin River. Estimated cost: $1.1 million.
Santa Clara • Install rock lining on multiple locations along Santa Clara River where bank erosion threatens 12 houses, farm property, water, irrigation and sewer lines, and power utilities. Estimated cost: $1 million.
Springdale • Protect bank where erosion brought Virgin River closer to a sewer line that could be exposed. Estimated cost: $200,000.
Virgin • Add additional retaining wall near leaking RV park rock wall or line existing wall with clay. Estimated cost: $240,000.
Rockville • Extend an existing rock wall to protect homes on Virgin River. Estimated cost: $250,000.
Source • Washington County