Emergency manager: high snowpack but orderly runoff; residents urged to prepare for floods and groundwater issues

Mike McComb, Park City emergency manager, presented runoff and flood preparedness data to the Board, saying the current snowpack and soil moisture point to a runoff season that should mainly refill reservoirs but could produce river rises and local flooding in vulnerable spots.

"We hit 40 and a half inches of snow water equivalent" at the SNOTEL site on April 25, McComb said, later reporting that number had declined to about 30.8 inches by early May. He explained that high soil moisture leaves less capacity to absorb melt, which increases runoff into reservoirs and streams.

Using local river gauges as examples, McComb said the action stage for the McLeod Creek gauge is 8.1 feet and minor flood stage is 8.9 feet, and that recent readings showed roughly a one-foot rise in the last weeks. He noted Park City and Summit County agencies have cleared drainage, pre-positioned heavy equipment at key trouble spots, and stocked about 3,000 prefilled sandbags for rapid response.

McComb urged residents to check homeowners' or business insurance for water coverage well before high-water events (insurance additions often have a 30-day waiting period), verify sump pumps and discharge routing (clean and test pumps, discharge to storm sewer if water is clean and per EPA guidance), and to avoid driving or recreating near fast, cold floodwaters. He also warned of two types of flooding currently observed in the county: rising groundwater (basement seepage in some eastern valleys) and the upcoming period of surface-water river flooding.

What's next: McComb said emergency partners will continue monitoring river gauges and managing sandbag/supply distribution; he suggested the board check back in June or July for a post-runoff report.