Logan works on storm managment problem
Storm water management has been a problem Logan has been working on since it was founded, said Kevin Hansen, public works director for Logan City.
Storm water has two main concerns, Hansen said, which deal with quantity and quality. Hansen said his first job is to ensure the storm water does not carry pollution into rivers where the runoff ends up. He said his second job is to make sure no floods occur in Logan.
There is a $15 million project called the Storm Water Master Plan, Hansen said, which goes into details about the city’s canals and other resources used for storm water diversion. An additional $7 million plan has been added called the Flood Hazard Mitigation Plan, he said, to correct the hazard areas of flooding.
“It [Storm Water Master Plan] will take about 20 years to get everything done,” Hansen said.
Logan City does not have a good system right now. There are only canals running from north to south for the storm water. The plan shows where all the canals are in the city, Hansen said, so he can find what canals to use for diversion canals to get the water to Logan River and Cutler Reservoir.
“The canals have been here longer than the city has,” Hansen said.
An area of concern is Bridgerland Park. The construction there will start soon, he said.
“There’s never enough money in the time you’re given to do it in,” Hansen said.
Money may become an issue as the plan progresses, he said. Everyone in the city is affected by storm water and contributes to storm water pollution. Residents are also helping to pay for the correction of the problem, he said.
The Public Works department is not the only one involved with storm water management, Hansen said. All the other departments in the city and the pubic are involved with helping.
“It is a city-wide effort to fix the problem,” Hansen said.