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Hobble Creek is shown with natural debris on the left and a cleared bank on the right in this undated photo.

Courtesy Springville

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Sand used in sandbags for the Spanish Fork River is shown in this undated photo.

Courtesy Spanish Fork

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Volunteers fill sandbags at the Public Works yard in Provo on Friday, April 14, 2023.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

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As flooding decreases in certain areas of southern Utah County, cities are preparing to discard used sandbags from city and residential areas. Although the sandbags that are wet from mountain water are not as tainted as those that have been covered in sewage water, proper disposal is still required by law.

Spanish Fork’s snow model shows that low and mid-level snowpack also finished melting on May 23. 5.9 inches of SWE is left of the high-level snowpack as of May 30.

According to the CBRFC’s hydrograph for the Spanish Fork River, the flow is currently at 775 CFS. The flow should slightly increase in the next few days and then continue on its downward trend.

It also reached its peak on May 15, at just under 2,312 CFS. At this point, the river was still about 250 CFS from overflowing.

Last Friday, Spanish Fork announced that free sandbags are available to the public. They can be picked up from 4-9 p.m. on Friday or from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday at Canyon View Park. 

Those wishing to dispose of used sandbags and flood debris must use the dumpsters provided by the city. These dumpsters will be available for use this Friday and Saturday and again June 9 and June 10 in various locations. More flooding information can be found in the city’s most recent video on their flooding information page.

According to the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center’s snow model of Hobble Creek Basin, low and mid-level snowpack finished melting on May 23. As of Tuesday, 4.2 inches of snow water equivalent is left of the high-level snowpack. 

Hobble Creek was observed flowing at a rate of 239 cubic feet per second. The flow is predicted to continue to go down throughout June. The highest flow rate in the area during this flood season was 829 CFS, surpassing the previous peak recorded in 2011, according to CBRFC’s hydrograph. 

A typical summer rate for the creek is between 39-45 CFS according to Patrick Monney, Springville’s director of administration. If a person is watching the river flow, it would be like watching 239 basketballs go by every second, he said.

“Even though our snow has been melting pretty quick, we’re out of the danger zone now,” Monney said. “One of the things that is hard to predict is thunderstorms. You can see a spike of 100 to 200 cubic feet per second during that short time that rain falls and has to go down the creek, and then the flow lowers back down again.”

Monney said the creek is more than capable of holding the additional water and flooding should not occur. However, people should still avoid going near the fast flows of the creek for now. Residents can remove their sandbags whenever they feel comfortable doing so.

Residents should not empty their sandbags at Bartholomew Pond, as several have inquired. Sandbags contain a dirty sand that is different from that of the pond; it will clog the pond’s filters and prevent its water from being delivered to resident’s pressurized irrigation systems.

Both dry and wet sandbags can be taken to the Art City Hometown Rodeo Arena. Dry sandbags will be emptied and used to level the rodeo grounds. Wet sandbags that have been contaminated with river water will be disposed of by the city.

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