Newly finished wetlands project to clean water for Great Salt Lake
The latest completed project to help the Great Salt Lake is the Freeport Drain Wetlands. The 40 acres of open marsh was created to clean stormwater draining from Clearfield’s Freeport Center, which is a particular point of possible contamination.
The wetlands will both collect trash coming downriver and be a second stop for drain water, as the environment is naturally great at pulling contaminants from the water.
The Freeport Drain Wetlands are part of the Great Salt Lake Shorelands Preserve, which was created by Nature Conservancy and includes 4,400 acres of wetlands and uplands along the eastern edge of the Great Salt Lake. Like the newest project, the Preserve serves as a buffer between human development and the lake’s shores.
The project was supposed to take eight to nine months, but with historic levels of precipitation it took well over a year.
Deadline for free air purifiers in Utah schools approaches
Time is running out for Utah schools to get free air purifiers in their classrooms. Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment partnered with the state’s Department of Health and Human Services to distribute the air purifiers using $90 million from the federal Epidemiology Laboratory Capacity Reopening Schools Grant, given to Utah during COVID.
That funding for the program will be cut off July 31, which means schools and daycares have to get them into their classrooms before then. Currently, only 64% of schools in the state have used the program so far, according to the president of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment.
Studies have shown air pollution affects both physical health and student performance.
More information on the program and how to sign up can be found here.
Click It or Ticket Week to increase enforcement of seat belt laws
Wearing a seatbelt is the law, but next week, enforcement will ramp up. Utah Highway Patrol is doing a Click It or Ticket Week from May 22-June 4 to encourage safety for motorists as part of a nationwide campaign by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Forty law enforcement agencies throughout Utah will work an additional 380 shifts during the week to look for motorists not wearing seat belts.
Utah’s seat belt law is a primary enforcement law, which means someone can be pulled over just for not wearing a seat belt. Non-compliance with this law can result in a $45 citation.
Flooding affects residents of Logan RV park
Flooding from the Blacksmith Fork River continues to impact residents of Creekside RV Park in south Logan.
After being warned in April about potential flooding by the company that owns the park, renters have been without heat and electricity. Boulder Ranch LLC in Provo told Logan Fire Marshal Craig Humphries there was a plan in place for their customers. Renters say park owners did send a written letter and hung door notices warning tenants to evacuate the park, but RV property owners have not helped with sandbagging or relocating tenants to other RV parks owned by the company.
Community members have helped with sandbagging and donations have been gathered to house some residents in hotels. Among the organizations that have helped park residents include the Bear River Association of Governments, the American Red Cross and Salvation Army.
Flooding from the Blacksmith Fork River is forecasted to continue for several more weeks.
Cache County executive declares local emergency
The costs of repairing roads and supporting those impacted by flooding has forced Cache County officials to declare a local emergency.
Executive David Zook issued a proclamation Wednesday which states emergency response operations, including disaster preparation and planning, distribution of resources, and deploying protective measures, have been under way and continue throughout Cache County. Zook says these operations have strained resources of multiple responding agencies.
The proclamation declares Cache County to be in a state of local emergency allowing the county to request aid, assistance and relief available from the State of Utah.
