Flooding Continues In North Ogden, Utah

(Newswire.net — August 13, 2015) Centerville, Utah –Eighteen families in North Ogden, Utah are still working to deal with flooding from an unknown source. The affected homes are in the Douglas Street and Polk Avenue areas. Beginning at around the end of June, though different homes began to report unusual flooding at different times, water began to flood into the basements of several North Ogden homes. During their efforts to clear their homes of the water, some families have reported pumping out upwards of twenty thousand gallons of water, with no end in sight. This water is coming in through the walls and floors of these homes and rapidly filling them with water at a rate faster than it can be removed from the homes.

The source of this water is as of yet unknown. The Weber Water Basin in Layton, Utah, could provide no information about the problem, reporting nothing unusual on their end that might account for the flooding. Investigations by plumbers have indicated that the pipes have not ruptured in the afflicted houses, adding further confusion to the matter. Fortunately for the residents of the affected area, analysis of the flooding water shows it is not sewer and so far no serious contaminants have been found in the water, though mildew is quickly emerging from the damp basements. Chlorine tests have also come back negative.

The city government of Ogden has denied responsibility for the problems, but has sent in its own experts trying to figure out what’s going on and if it’s a sign of a larger problem. From their investigations, the city government has stated that the most likely source of this strange water is that it is ground water. City utility crews did several tests, during off pipes and listening for leaks, and while a few small leaks were discovered in the process, none of them were large enough or in close enough proximity to explain the flooding in the area. The city government has stated that the problem is not a leak in the local water system.

Secondary water sources for one affected home were shut off, to no effect. Then the main service line to the area was shut off, again to no effect. Finally, secondary water to 258 homes was shut off for three days, with no real change in the flooding being noticed. The city further states that the heavy rains in May could account for the water, as sometimes ground water can delay flooding and is difficult to predict. These tests have convinced the city government that it is groundwater flooding the affected homes. Further, comparison of water samples from the irrigation, culinary and basement water taken from certain homes has caused Cascade Water Resources to conclude that the problem does lie in ground water.

However, residents deny that similar flooding has taken place during previous, wetter years; there is some disagreement, as some home owners do not believe that so much ground water could have emerged from the earth in so short a time, estimated by some homeowners to be between four hundred and six hundred gallons of water an hour, and continue to flood for so long. Additionally, some residents have noted that the water is directional and pressurized as opposed to seepage from the ground up. The homes are not situated on a flood plain adding further confusion to the unusual flooding.

 

The Utah Geological survey and a private company both brought in expert hydrologists who have determined that the neighborhood is built on an ancient alluvial fan, a geological formation created when streams build up a fan shaped deposit of sediment. These experts have also determined that the water might be coming from the ground, but also could be coming from a leak elsewhere in the local geology and then mixing with existing ground water. These experts believe, however, that more testing is needed to determine the precise source of the water. They have suggested that the afflicted homeowners hire a geotechnical firm to do more tests at the home owners’ expense as the water continues to flow in.

 Because the homes were not built on a flood plain, so far the home owners’ insurance companies have refused to help pay for clean up or to hire expert consultants to locate the source of the problem, with expenses for those services running in the thousands of dollars.

The residents recently banded together and held a demolition home evening to remove the sheetrock and other water logged materials in their basements, hoping to forestall further damage and prevent further molding of their basements. Sump pumps have been installed in some homes, in some homes as many as ten separate pumps, keeping the water down to about one fourth of an inch in depth, but the pumps must continue to be run by the home owners. Neighborhood residents say they’ve never faced this problem before, and deny the Ogden City and Pineview Water Systems conclusion that groundwater is the source of their problem.

The city government of Ogden can offer low interest loans to affected home owners, and there’s been investigation into possibilities of establishing an improvement district that could help fund a broad solution through tax revenues. A Gofundme account has been established to try and bring in the funds the Ogden home owners need to pay for cleaning and consultation services to find the source of their problem. Restoration of the damaged areas is already being estimated at costing between thirty thousand and forty thousand dollars, on top of surging electric bills needed to keep the pumps running constantly.

While the source of the flooding is still uncertain, it does seem to likely be groundwater, though many aspects of the problem remain unclear. Further testing has been recommended for the home owners affected by the North Ogden flooding, albeit at great expense. The home owners are at a loss for solutions to their problem as water continues to pour in with no end in sight. For now, the pumps continue to run.