Life has changed in northern Utah, following last summer’s drought.

Amelia Powers Gardner, the Chairwoman of the Utah County Commission, and Monica Zoltanski, Mayor of Sandy, have declared emergencies due to the impending risk of floods from the spring runoff. These official declarations were made on consecutive days – Tuesday and Wednesday.

The anticipated floods have already led to an estimated $10 million worth of damage in Utah County, as reported in a county news release. Recognizing the risk due to this year’s unusually high precipitation, Utah County has earmarked $2 million in the 2023 budget for dealing with potential flood-related expenses.

These emergency declarations will enable the county and city to seek supplementary funding from the state and federal authorities to effectively respond to the floods.

Utah County is the second-most populous county in the state. The county seat and largest city is Provo, which is Utah’s fourth-largest city, and the largest outside of Salt Lake County. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 665,665

Record-breaking snowfall last winter has made flooding a significant concern in northern Utah. To combat this, the Utah Legislature recently decided to prolong Gov. Spencer Cox’s statewide emergency order regarding flooding and approved up to $40 million in expenditure for snow removal and potential flood damage repairs.

Utah County publishes an online emergency feed announcing road closures and anticipated weather events.

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