The city of Farmington is gearing up for potential flooding from the spring runoff by preparing sandbags to be placed in flood-prone areas. Nearly 1,000 sandbags are already on standby.
“There is not a massive flow of water coming right now so it’s just a good opportunity to set up sandbags and be prepared for whatever mother nature throws at us,” Robert Sterrett, fire chief for the City of Farmington told KOB.
The city and county are also offering free sandbags residents can pick up behind the Farmington Recreation Center, La Plata Fire Station 2, or the Aztec Fire Ops Pepsi building.
A hearty monsoon season combined with heavy snowmelt has already produced record water levels around the state.
“We always have spring runoff and due to the snow pack this year, currently it’s at 150% above normal,” Mike Mestas, emergency manager for San Juan County told KOB. “We anticipate a pretty good spring runoff this year.”
Constantly rising water levels due to runoffs from high elevations increase the potential for flooding. “It’s a little over 2,000 (cubic feet per second) right now,” Sterrett said. “A month ago it was 300. Historically in the 2019/2015 years, we’re kind of right on par with what those years did.”
In both of those years, the runoffs produced standing water in Farmington’s river parks, per KOB. Most of the high flows occur between mid-May and mid-June. That’s why Farmington officials are taking precautions now by preparing sandbags.
“Be prepared now and let’s not wait until something happens within our community,” Mestas said.
The sandbags will be used once they become necessary. “Depends on how quickly we warm up if it rains up in high elevations,” Sterrett said. “Unfortunately, those are things we have no control over that could drastically change how much water comes down the river.”