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Utah Rep. Tyler Clancy, of Provo, shovels sand into a bag held by Municipal Council member Katrice Mackay at the Public Works yard in Provo on Friday, April 14, 2023.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

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Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson speaks to members of the media after helping fill sandbags at the Public Works yard in Provo on Friday, April 14, 2023.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

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Provo Mayor Michelle Kaufusi speaks to members of the media after helping fill sandbags at the Public Works yard in Provo on Friday, April 14, 2023. Behind Kaufusi are, from left, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, Provo Municipal Council members Rachel Whipple and Katrice MacKay and state Rep. Tyler Clancy.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

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Provo Mayor Michelle Kaufusi fills sandbags at the Public Works yard in Provo on Friday, April 14, 2023.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

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Volunteers fill sandbags at the Public Works yard in Provo on Friday, April 14, 2023.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

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Volunteers fill sandbags as Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson speaks to members of the media at the Public Works yard in Provo on Friday, April 14, 2023.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

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As the year’s abnormally high snowpack begins to melt and water levels rise, elected officials continue urging residents to stay aware and take precautions to protect themselves and their property. On Friday, a handful of officials decided to put their money where their mouths are and help fill sandbags to protect from flooding.

“We’ve got a lot of water up in those mountains that’s going to be coming down, and we have to prepare,” said Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, standing in front of volunteers continuously filling sandbags by hand and machine. “Every community has different needs, different risks. Understand the risks in your area and follow the advice of your city leaders who are on top of this.”

Provo Mayor Michelle Kaufusi said the city’s highest areas of concern for flood prevention include the frontal canyons of Rock Canyon, Slate Canyon and Little Rock Canyon along with properties that neighbor the Provo River.

“We’ve made significant infrastructure improvements. Public work crews are actively mitigating high-risk areas, protection efforts continue with sandbagging,” she said. “Provo is preparing for the worst but hoping for the best. While we can’t control Mother Nature, we can and must be as prepared as possible.”

Henderson and Kaufusi were joined by state Rep. Tyler Clancy, R-Provo, and Municipal Council members Rachel Whipple and Katrice MacKay. The sandbagging and other flood-prevention activities, Clancy said, are partially funded using a $5 million allocation approved by Gov. Spencer Cox in November 2022.

That allocation, Henderson said, has already been fully used and the state has begun to use its existing “rainy day fund.”

According to live mapping from the National Weather Service and the Colorado Basin River Forecast Service, water levels are considered “normal” at all measured water access points throughout Utah County. Levels are expected to rise in the future, though, in the following areas: Spanish Fork at Castilla, Spanish Fork near Lakeshore, Hobble Creek in Springville, American Fork near the power plant, Dry Creek near Alpine, and West Canyon Creek near Cedar Fort.

“We have experts who are watching everything from land movement to weather forecasts to road conditions to water movement. We’re doing our best to look around all the corners and be prepared for when that flooding does inevitably come and hopefully when it does come it’s coming in a proper channel and we’re ready for it,” Henderson said.

The only emergency declarations due to flooding, so far, have been north of Utah County in Salt Lake City and throughout Davis County. Henderson asked members of the public to stay conscious of health risks associated with flooded waters. Rivers and streams pose immediate risks — swept-up debris like rocks and tree limbs — and possible bacterial contamination. Kim Shelley, executive director of the Department of Environmental Quality, reiterated Henderson’s plea for caution around bodies of water for the time being.

“We should assume that every single floodwater is contaminated. It’s running over agricultural fields, running over parking lots, picking up all sorts of viruses, bacteria, etc. that we don’t want humans ingesting or recreating in,” Shelley said.

Sediment carried from the mountains and through Utah County’s different rivers and streams into Utah Lake is also a major concern. As a shallow lake, the “jewel” is at risk of ecological damage from sedimentation through high mountain streams and, particularly, American Fork River, which collects heavy metals from mining in the area. Depositing of those metals could “have an impact on aquatic life as well as public health,” Shelley said.

It’s unknown what impact high flows into Utah Lake will have on June Sucker restoration and repopulation efforts, though it is being monitored by the Department of Water Quality.

For southern Utah County, a significant portion of which is agricultural, concerns go beyond the effects floods can have on homes. Shelley warned of nutrient loading from the extra sediment, adding that DEQ and the Department of Agriculture notified producers in the state of “best practices” for handling the spring including what crops to plant, where to plant, field irrigation, manure management and more.

Members of the public who believe a body of water may be contaminated are encouraged to contact DEQ on its website. The department also has a spill line where, by calling 801-536-4123, residents can alert the government if drinking water has odd tastes, odors or anything else unusual.

To prepare for the increased stormwater and floodwaters, DEQ has scaled up monitoring crews to stay on top of new developments.

“It will be business as usual but we’re all on high alert,” Shelley said. “We’re ready, we’re proactive and I think, as a state, we’ll be just fine getting through this together.”

While environmental risks exist and will be monitored, residents are still encouraged to contribute time and energy to helping their local municipalities prepare for flooding through sandbagging and other manual labor.

Volunteers on Friday included everyday citizens, officials and both city and state employees taking time out of their regular work to help safeguard city infrastructure.

“I just saw they needed volunteers and I sit all day, so it’s an opportunity to get outside,” said Denise Smallcanyon, a Provo emergency dispatch employee. “Even if you just came out for an hour … a little bit goes a long way.”

Provo City set a goal to fill 100,000 sandbags before May 1 with over 45,000 bags already filled. According to Kaufusi, 1,000 sandbags have already been deployed and, as of Thursday, 411 volunteers have worked a cumulative 1,255 hours in service to the city.

Volunteers can sign up online to help fill sandbags and pick them up from the city’s Public Works building. Northern Utah County residents can collect sandbags from the Lehi Public Works building and Lehi Power Department.

“We are prepared for A to Z. We have maps, we have plans, we have diversion roads already prepared. We’ll just do the best we can,” Kaufusi said. “We’re doing everything we possibly can. We’re getting the sandbags out and about and also mapped every single potential problem.”

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