MURRAY, Utah (ABC 4 News) - A heavy downpour triggered flooding in homes near 5400 South and the Jordan River on Tuesday.
More than 20 homes along Brandonwood Drive had water in their yards and homes. Rivers flowed through backyards and garages and filled basements.
Some homes had four to five feet of water in their basements. Power to the area was cut but was restored Wednesday afternoon.
The flood filled Kelly Wardell’s basement. Wardell and her family just moved into the home after spending months finishing the basement. “It kind of sucks, but we’ll get it fixed somehow,” Wardell said.
Neighbors say the flood struck quickly. It a matter of minutes the rain had filled a drainage ditch between the subdivision and 5400 South. Once that ditch overflowed, the water had nowhere to go but through the neighborhood.
The flood took out Barb Warner’s back fence. She says the county said it would repair the storm drain back before Memorial Day. “They’ve known for two months that pipe was broken,” said a frustrated Warner. “Today that pipe totally collapsed and the water came rushing down. The frustrating thing is that they had two months to fix it and they didn’t do anything.”
According to Murray City Public Service Director Doug Hill, the damaged storm drain pipe (along with the downpour) was to blame for the flood and damage.
"There was a contract for the pipe to be repaired, but it never was," said Hill.
Hill stated that Murray City was helping to pump out the water from neighbors homes and that dumpsters were made available for the debris washed in by the floods.
"The damaged pipe is expected to be fixed within the next three days," said Hill, while also expressing concern that another flash flood within that time period could derail the reparation efforts.
