Wallsburg council debates who must fix filled ditches, seeks state help for storm drainage

At a Sept. 5 Wallsburg Town Council meeting, council members and residents spent more than an hour debating recurring storm‑drainage failures, filled-in ditches and who is responsible for maintaining the town’s 66‑foot right‑of‑way.

The discussion matter-of-factly centered on safety and costs: residents described repeat flooding and soft road segments that “will be worse come spring” if not addressed, and council members said the town must decide whether to require permits and to enforce setbacks where private landscaping or fills block historic drainage routes.

Council member Scott Larson said the town’s right‑of‑way is 66 feet and noted that “it’s the town’s right of way that people will put their lawn or plants or whatever in there,” adding that “we can't just allow people to fill it in.” Council member Terry Issel and several residents pressed that approach: “If they put grass out into the road right away…the town should actually, in my opinion, maintain 66 feet,” Issel said, while residents described culverts removed or buried and repeated sediment and mud in driveways.

Why it matters: multiple speakers said previously open ditches had been filled when pressurized irrigation systems were installed, leaving less capacity to move stormwater. Multiple speakers raised the risk that continued ad hoc fixes will cost more and expose private drives and town roads to increased damage in large spring storms.

What the council discussed and directed

- Grants and engineering: Scott Larson reported he has a meeting scheduled with Nancy O’Toole and a representative from the Utah Department of Water Quality next Thursday “to see about getting some grant money…to pay for some engineering and…work on the drainage stuff.” Council members asked that attendees report back with details of available funding and match requirements.

- Enforcement and code changes: Council members discussed adding right‑of‑way encroachment controls to the town’s development/building code and making the planning commission the reviewing body for permit applications that affect drainage. Larson said the town must “come up with something to put in and then some way to enforce it.”

- Near‑term mitigation: Speakers suggested targeted fixes for four problem areas identified by residents (including a soft spot near several homes, a culvert by Steve Muir’s property, and repeated washouts near Nate’s and Josh’s driveways). Council members and staff discussed temporary measures such as ditch cleanouts, collection sumps (collection boxes) and diversion ditches to reduce immediate risk.

Details and context

- A number of residents and council members observed that older, pervious ditch systems were removed or filled when pressurized irrigation was installed; without those ditches, water that once infiltrated is now concentrated into smaller channels.

- Council members repeatedly cited the practical limit that most Utah municipalities design storm systems for a 10‑year storm event and said exceptionally large storms will still overwhelm local drainage without distributed on‑site controls.

- Council members asked staff to prepare language for the development code and fee schedule to require permits for work in the right‑of‑way and to identify enforcement steps; they directed staff to present those proposed code changes to the planning commission for review.

Ending

Council members agreed to pursue Department of Water Quality funding and to return with details about grant timing and match requirements; no ordinance or formal code change was adopted at the Sept. 5 meeting. The council said it will prioritize short‑term fixes at the named problem spots while planning longer‑term engineering work if grants are available.