Savannah Perkins

Head: Canal run-off is causing damage to county roads

SM Head: Snow is no longer bring smiles to faces, rather destruction to roads

By Savannah Perkins

Cache County officials are hoping for more blue skies as spring sets in. The long winter and continuing rain has created a water flow that has needed special attention to handle and contain.

As Cache Canal Company workers have made their rounds this spring installing new pipes and filling in canals, run-off issues are causing problems on several Cache County roads.

“I think that right now we are dealing with that as best we can,” said Craig Buttars, the Cache County executive, “but we do have some pretty serious issues.”

Buttars said the amount of snow this winter increased water flow and has created inconsistent water levels in canals throughout the county. He said that this has been a problem throughout a large portion of the Beehive State this spring as well.

“Those canals have been in there for over a hundred years, some of them and they’ve been handling a lot of run-off water, Buttars said. “To just fill those canals in without planning for where the water is going to go creates a challenge.”

Joel Merritt, the Cache County Road Department foreman, said road crews had to dig a ditch and build structures along the road so water could flow without damaging the road anymore.

“We are also going to have to accommodate for the water now because it is basically flowing at gravity’s speed and it’s going to flow where it’s going to flow,” Merritt said. “This is a new path for it and we are going to have to adjust the road accordingly to allow vehicles to safely pass through.”

Buttars hopes to reconcile with irrigators and work closer with landowners in the coming months to work out a solution so that this problem can be avoided in the future.