WEST JORDAN, Utah — With temperatures climbing and a record snowpack still melting, Governor Spencer Cox warned that the next 48 hours will test Utah's flood mitigation infrastructure with rivers and streams already under flood warnings and watches.
"The next 48 hours are going to be a test of our infrastructure I think all across the state," he told FOX 13 News on Monday. "We’ve seen Highway 89 is shut down, no surprise there this morning. Northern Utah, the Weber [River], you get up into Cache Valley right now we’re seeing streams flowing at near-maximum capacity."
Gov. Cox said the good news is temperatures will cool down later in the week, reducing the volume of water headed down streams. Many communities are under flood warnings and watches. Garden City declared a state of emergency on Sunday. Cities and counties, meanwhile, have been sandbagging and preparing.
"I think we’ve been able to pick out most of the hot spots and we feel pretty good where we are right now," the governor said.
The Utah State Legislature, at the governor's request, budgeted $5 million for flood mitigation efforts this year and the state has already blown past that. Lawmakers have said they will dip into rainy-day funds as needed.
