Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Stormwater Drainage Rights Of Way topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Wallsburg council weighs clearing rights-of-way, culverts and grant options as drainage worsens
Summary
Council members and residents discussed recurring flooding, filled ditches and removed culverts across town, agreed to pursue state grant help and to clarify town responsibility for road right-of-way maintenance.
The Wallsburg Town Council and residents spent the meeting’s longest discussion on stormwater drainage problems, filled ditches and missing culverts that residents say are causing repeated flooding and soft spots on town roads.
The discussion centered on where responsibility falls for road right-of-way maintenance, whether property owners may have unlawfully filled historic drainage ditches, and the town’s immediate options to seek outside funding for engineering and repairs.
Council members and residents described multiple problem locations — including a chronic soft spot by a culvert near Steve Muir’s property and a worsening low spot near Terry Issel’s house — and said ad hoc fixes are not keeping pace. Council members said the town’s road right-of-way is 66 feet and that easements historically contained ditches and culverts that collected runoff; attendees said some property owners have filled those ditches after pressurized irrigation came in, leaving no obvious path for stormwater.
Council Member Scott Larson said the town must clarify who maintains the right-of-way and how to enforce it going forward. Council members agreed to ask the Walsburg planning commission to draft development-code language addressing right-of-way encroachments and permit requirements for work in the town easement.
The council also reported a scheduled meeting with Nancy O’Toole and a representative from the Utah Department of Water Quality to explore grant funding for emergency storm-drainage engineering and repairs. Council members said that agency representatives had indicated there are funding sources for storm-drainage emergencies but that the town will need an engineering plan and to define who is responsible for restoring or maintaining culverts that were removed or filled by private parties.
Residents pressing the council asked how the town will decide whether to repair damage caused by property owners who moved culverts or hauled fill into ditches. Council members said grant awards would likely require a policy that explains maintenance responsibilities going forward and that the planning commission should be tasked with drafting that language.
On immediate steps, council members discussed structural mitigations such as local sump/collection boxes and targeted diversions to prevent water from channeling into single properties, and agreed the town should schedule routine ditch cleanouts and prioritize the most urgent spots for repair. The council planned to send representatives to the Department of Water Quality meeting to clarify available funding, matching requirements and timelines.
The council did not adopt any formal ordinance at the meeting; members agreed to place draft code language and a drainage update on the work-session agenda after the town’s meeting with state officials.
