MIDVALE, Utah, Jan. 18, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — About a two block stretch of cars and business were flooded in Midvale overnight after an apparent canal breach near a Hillcrest High School construction project sent water cascading into the streets and parking lots near 844 N. Union Avenue at about 7200 South.
Unified District Fire Chief Duane Woolsey told Gephardt Daily the first flooding calls came into dispatch about 11:13 p.m. Thursday. When first responders arrived they found knee deep water threatening businesses and inundating dozens of cars and trucks.
Crews worked quickly to remove debris from the overwhelmed drainage systems, Woolsey said, and managed to bring water levels down a foot by 2 a.m.
Three or four businesses in a strip mall suffered significant damage including a small family-owned grocery store.
Guests on the first floor of the nearby Hilton-run Homewood Suites were forced to move to the second floor after about 3 inches of water flooded their rooms.
Woolsey said work crews from the Midvale were trying to determine exactly where the water was coming from.
He also said a crew at the Hillcrest High construction site was attempting to “fix a breach in the canal” although its role in the flooding had yet to be determined.
Police said it could be hours before the water levels recede.
Gephardt Daily will update the story as more information becomes available.
