LAYTON, Utah (ABC4) – Elizabeth Salathiel-Keen and her three sons have already begun the battle against the spring floods. 

Salathiel-Keen says she has already drained her backyard 11 times this year, but after they remove all the water and stop the pumps, the water comes back in just a few hours. 

At this point, she says she’s running out of options and doesn’t know what to do. 

“It’s a mess,” Salathiel-Keen said. “It’s filled up probably about 72 feet across now and about 50 feet back in my property.” 

The water, which rises past their knees, has pooled on the east side of the backyard alongside a fence. Salathiel-Keen and her sons have been working non-stop to try and get rid of the ever-growing water by using sump pumps. 

Salathiel-Keen says she’s reached out for help on social media but has received criticism for attempting to pump the water out now, instead of later when the snow begins to melt even more. 

“I want to make sure that I take care of my property, but I worry about other people too,” she said. 

She continued saying that if she had just left the water and waited for the snow to stop, it would have caused more trouble for her and her neighbors. 

“If I didn’t empty any of the water it would have flooded all the way across the property and into other people’s properties,” Salathiel-Keen said. 

However, despite over a thousand dollars spent and hours of labor, once they get the water out, it just comes right back. The sump pumps Salathiel-Keen is currently using need their filters cleared about every twenty minutes or they shut off. 

“Just going out there in the water, you have water going up to your knee, and it’s really cold,” said Frankie, Salathiel-Keen’s son. 

Their pumps can pump out about 35 gallons per minute but even with them constantly being cleaned and working, the water just seems endless. 

“We just pray every day that the Lord will help us through our day and that we can get the water out and hopefully it will dry up,” Salathiel-Keen said.