News

Actions

Ogden residents upset with city and utility company’s response to flooding concerns

Posted at 8:12 PM, Jul 15, 2015
and last updated 2015-07-16 09:43:13-04

OGDEN, Utah -- More than 2,000 gallons a day. That's how much water some residents living in Ogden are pumping out of their basements. This has been going on since June 28, and so far the source is uncertain though some believe ground water is to blame.

"My house is sitting on mud and why doesn't anyone want to fix it?" Alison Lundell said.

Lundell said her main concern is not the water on the floor. It's the water under the house. She's worried the foundation could soon be in jeopardy.

"Is someone going to have to die in this mess for something to happen? It's just scary because I don't know how that structurally works," Lundell said.

Lundell is one of at least seven homeowners living along Douglas Street experiencing this constant flow of water coming through their basement floors and walls. So far, no one has taken responsibility.

"It's like government, where they always point fingers at each other saying, 'It's your fault. No it's my fault,' they need to work together," said flooding victim Mark Heppler.

The city of Ogden hired an independent company, American Leak Detection, to do a series of tests Wednesday morning. They concluded the water is not coming from city pipes.

"Ogden city doesn't plan to do any more testing, we've done extensive testing and haven't found anything," said Ogden Public Utilities Manager Kenton Moffett.

Residents said they appreciate the city's time and effort. They can't say the same about the other utility tied to this area, Pineview Water Systems, which controls secondary water.

"Pineview, I would like to see a more open dialogue, they have denied it's their water this entire time but there is no transparency in justifying their actions for this, they quit returning phone calls, they sent out a press release that was full of inaccuracies," said flooding victim Jessica Smith.

The city says they can't speak for Pineview, but they can give their own opinion on where they think this water is coming from.

"I think ground water is a real possibility," Moffett said. "I know that's not what everyone wants, because unfortunately ground water situations falls back on the homeowner to rectify and it's expensive and frustrating to them."

Pineview Water Systems suspects ground water as well, click here for their previous press release regarding the issue.

Lundell, however, doesn't buy into that explanation.

"At the rate it is coming in, I just can't imagine how it's ground water," Lundell said.

At this point, residents said they just want the flooding to stop. They said it's taken over very aspect of their lives.

"We have four children under the age of nine so that's busy enough on its own, but then you add vacuuming water every 25 to 30 minutes," Smith said.

"Frustration basically, basically the whole block is frustrated," Heppler said.

Pineview Water Systems was unavailable for comment regarding this situation Wednesday.