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West Jordan Approves Storm Water Financial Assistance Program

Aug 06, 2015 10:10AM ● By Bryan Scott

Residents in areas of historic flooding

By Taylor Stevens

West Jordan - If you live in a home that has been damaged by storm water in the last year, you may be eligible to receive payment or reimbursement from the city for property reparations.

The City Council unanimously enacted the Storm Water Damage Financial Assistance Program at its June 24 meeting to better respond to residents who “experience continuous and repeated storm water flooding issues at their property” with mitigation, according to city documents. 

Over the past few months, many residents have brought their stories to the City Council, urging the councilmembers to approve the storm water grant. 

“When you vote, I want you to remember these homes that are in peril,” said West Jordan residents Barbara Backman and Pam Marcusen, who spoke before the council on May 13. “All we’ve ever asked is that you secure our homes; that’s all.” 

Another resident, Brenda Thomas, told councilmembers of the repeated floodwater damage to her home because her downward driveway, the product of a development mistake, takes on water. Every time the city has a big storm, she has to spend more money to fix damage that could be eliminated if she had grant money to fill in her driveway. 

“We can fix the problem so it doesn’t keep happening again; it will just be done,” Thomas said. 

The council’s decision to take action is its first step toward eliminating this problem altogether.

The program, which began accepting applications July 1, is intended to better protect homes in areas of historic flooding from future damages—and families from continued expenses—by helping with repair, sanitization and redesign expenses, including payment of building permit fees.

The money for the program will come from the Risk Management Claims and Liability budget, with a spending cap of $250,000 a year. The city attorney and/or the city risk manager will handle reimbursement claims on a case-by-case basis. 

To qualify for the program, the flooding must have occurred in an area of historic flood damage within at least one year of the application date, and the loss suffered must have been uninsured. 

Applications will be denied if the flood date is over a year old, if the costs were covered partially or fully by insurance, or if the loss was caused by negligence on behalf of the homeowner/renter or by a faulty condition of the property.