Local guide / Salt Lake City, UT

Spring Runoff Flooding in Salt Lake City: A Homeowner Guide

A big snow year in the Wasatch is great for skiing and hard on creekside basements. How to check your risk, where to get sandbags, and what your insurance probably does not cover.

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Snow on the Wasatch Mountains above the Salt Lake Valley in winter

Photo: Wasatch Mountains from South Jordan, Utah by Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0

What runoff season means

Quick answer

Salt Lake City Emergency Management describes spring runoff as the stretch from April to July when creeks swell with snowmelt. Flooding happens when warm weather melts snow fast and stream channels cannot carry it all.

Salt Lake County says every homeowner should be ready, and especially people who live near the natural waterways coming out of the Wasatch Mountains or in the midbench communities on the east side. If a creek runs through or behind your yard, this is about you.

Check your flood risk

Quick answer

Salt Lake County's Runoff Ready site has a mapping application that shows flood risk across the county, and you can also look up your address in the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. Look for whether your property sits in a FEMA regulated 100-year floodplain, which means a 1 percent chance of flooding in any given year.

Being outside the shaded area does not mean water cannot reach you. It only means the odds are lower.

Runoff water in your Salt Lake City basement? Call to reach a local restoration company.

Call (385) 513-0739

Sandbags and prep

Quick answer

Salt Lake County gives out 25 free sandbags per day, per vehicle, at the Flood Control sandbag shed at 604 West 6960 South in Midvale. It is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. You fill your own, so bring a shovel and work gloves. Salt Lake City Emergency Management adds a tip: leave room at the top of each bag so you can tie it shut. If you have never used sandbags, think about where water would come in first. Window wells, a walkout basement door and low spots along the foundation are the usual weak points, so that is where the bags go.

If you buy sandbags elsewhere, the county puts the cost at roughly 15 to 30 cents a bag.

Other steps the city and county recommend before runoff peaks:

Clear gutters, downspouts and the storm drains nearest your house.
Make sure your landscaping drains water away from the house.
Keep yard debris away from stream banks and out of the creek.
Consider a check valve or sump pump.
Put important papers in a waterproof container.

When you are done, used sandbags go to the landfill or a designated disposal site. The county says not to put them in curbside bins or dump them in a waterway.

Flood insurance takes 30 days

Quick answer

Standard homeowners insurance does not cover flooding from outside. Salt Lake County and Salt Lake City both point residents to the National Flood Insurance Program for a separate policy.

Timing matters. The city notes that it typically takes up to 30 days for a flood policy to go into effect, and FEMA says the same. Buying in January covers you for a May runoff. Buying when the creek is already high usually does not. To start, ask your insurance agent or call the NFIP at (877) 336-2627.

Who to call when water rises

Quick answer

For debris blocking a waterway, a large debris buildup or overland flooding along a creek, Salt Lake County Flood Control asks people to call (385) 468-6600. Inside Salt Lake City, the Public Utilities 24-hour dispatch line at (801) 483-6700 takes reports of flooding and sewage backups.

During a flood, the city's advice is short: turn around, don't drown. Six inches of moving water can knock you down, and a foot of moving water can sweep a car away. Leave if you are told to, and do not go back until officials say it is safe.

Drying out the basement

Quick answer

Wear gloves and boots for cleanup, watch for electrical hazards, and keep away from floodwater, which the city warns may be contaminated. Photograph the damage for your insurer before you throw anything out.

After that, speed matters. The EPA says wet materials should be dried within 24 to 48 hours to keep mold from growing. Utah's dry air helps the surfaces you can see, but water wicks into drywall, carpet pad and the bottom plates of walls, and that needs extraction, dehumidifiers and moisture readings to dry properly.

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