PROVO, Utah -- Residents in the Vivian Park neighborhood in Provo Canyon kept a careful watch on the rising water levels Saturday.
A flood warning is in place for the Provo River as dam operators release water from the Deer Creek Reservoir to make room for spring runoff.
Don Sorensen owns a home in Vivian Park.
“We’re hoping it’s not going to go any higher, because right now it’s right outside the door,” Sorensen said.
He said a recent remodel is giving him even more cause for concern.
“Everything is new on the inside,” he said. “The floor is new. The walls are new, and the last thing we want is any water coming in and damaging any of the remodel work."
He and his neighbors were all in the same boat Saturday, so to speak, as they watched the water in their neighborhood rise. Friday night they did their best to prepare.
“We had a small army here last night doing the sand-bagging, and Utah County helped out a lot,” said Val Dunn, the HOA President for Vivian Park.
Dunn said he and others think this is a direct result of dam operators releasing water from Deer Creek Reservoir into the Provo River.
“I really... a lot of the residents here feel like this is man-made,” Dunn said of the issue.
They say water is backing up into their neighborhood because not enough is being released downstream at the Olmstead Diversion.
“If they would let more water out of that dam we wouldn't have flooding here,” Sorensen said.
But the Central Utah Water Conservation District says a computer keeps the water level there within an inch, and that it’s the ground water that's backing up into these homes.They say homeowners were notified about the issue.
Dunn and others say at this point all they can do is wait and see what happens.
“We think we’re stable at the moment,” Dunn said. “At least we hope so.”
