Logan Public Works director discusses preparations for potential flooding

FILE PHOTO: sandbag and sand

LOGAN – Officials of Logan City are as prepared as they can be for what promises to be a near-record spring runoff from the snowpack in the surrounding mountains, according to Paul Lindhardt, the city’s public works director.

During an update on flood preparations on Mar. 21, Logan Public Works Director Paul Lindhardt told members of the Logan City Council that city employees had volunteered their time to fill 15,000 sandbags this year.

During an update to members of the Logan City Council on Mar. 21, Lindhardt said that the snowpack at Tony Grove in Logan Canyon is now about 133 percent of normal and that more snow is expected there in April.

The level of the Logan River normally crests between mid-May and mid-June, he added. The potential for flooding from the spring run-off will then be a function of how warm it gets, how quickly that temperature change happens and nighttime temperatures as well.

Lindhardt reported that city employees had volunteered sufficient time to fill 15,000 sand bags and that about 2,000 of them had already been distributed to more than 180 residents of Logan.

The city also has another 55,000 unfilled sandbags in reserve.

Other preparations for potential flooding have included city crews removing debris from the Logan River’s course through the city and clearing storm drains.

While most of his concern is focused on the snowpack in the mountains, Lindhardt said that snowfall in the city itself this winter has been nothing to sneeze at.

Based on figures compiled in 2020 to 2022, total snowfall in the city over the past three years had averaged 37 to 46 inches. This past winter, a total of 75 inches of snow fell in Logan.

Logan sends out snowplows to respond to 12 to 25 storms in an average year. This year, city plows have been called out a total of 40 times and counting.

“Since Nov. 10,” Lindhardt explained, “we’ve sent out snowplows on average every three days.”

Logan City uses 2,000 to 3,000 tons of salt clearing ice from its streets in the average year, compared to 5,500 tons of salt this year.

The cost of snow removal in the winters from 2020 to 2022 ranged from $170,000 to $200,000. This year, however, Lindhardt estimated the cost of equipment, labor and materials for snow removal is now at $440,000.

Lindhardt added that Craig Humphreys, the city’s emergency manager, is working with Cache County officials to minimize the threat of localized flooding from melting snow throughout the city.

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