Elevation

Davis County cannot ignore the presence of the Great Salt Lake, but if the lake returns to 1982-1983 levels how will your property be affected? Are you sure? The ability to deal with the 1982-1982 floodwaters entailed more than the rising level of the lake. The storm drain system in Salt Lake simply could not keep up. I remember helping stack sandbags in front of my grandmother’s house on 1300 South and 350 East—no where near the lake.

How it should work

City and county planning and engineering efforts are supposed to work in concert with FEMA to identify flood potential areas based on 2 things—the capability of the storm and flood control / infrastructure and an elevation assessment of flood prone properties.

How it’s actually working

It’s not raining, so there are no plans to finish an ark. I cannot get a straight answer from some counties on how they derived their flood maps, flood studies or vertical survey control. It is never too late to get started.