July 13, 1999

The canal break in Riverdale on Sunday was a disaster that could, and maybe should, have been avoided.

It was no secret that the canal overlooking Riverdale was perched on precarious ground. A University of Utah geographer says the problem was obvious, and what's also obvious, is a lot more homes along the Wasatch Front are facing the same risk.

News Specialist John Daley has that story.

You want a recipe for disaster? Build homes in a danger zone--without telling anyone that's what it is.

Two decades ago University of Utah geographer Merrill Ridd prepared a study for public officials that outlined the seismic, flooding and landslide danger on that part of the Wasatch Front. The report predicted trouble.

Merrill Ridd/Professor of Geography: "THIS IS 20 YEARS OLD. WAS IT EVER LOOKED AT? I DON'T KNOW."

A lesson from this disaster -- what other problems are also not being looked at in other areas?

Merrill Ridd/Professor of Geography: "I THINK THE REAL QUESTION HERE IS HOW MANY WAKE-UP CALLS DOES IT TAKE?"

Thanks to the Wasatch Fault, the Wasatch Front is riddled with seismic danger, flood plains, landslide zones.

Canals, which fail from time to time, present potential danger in northern Davis County, Weber and Box Elder Counties. The scientific data clearly show the potential for disaster.

More and more, we are building in and around areas prone to catastrophe, but public education lags far behind.

Merrill Ridd/Professor of Geography: "WE HAVE PEOPLE BUILDING QUARTER MILLION DOLLAR HOMES AND LARGER ALL THROUGHOUT THESE ORANGE ZONES WHICH ARE MAPPED AS LANDSLIDE HAZARD ZONES, DANGER ZONES."

To best protect yourself, Ridd suggests you do some homework. Check with county and local governments, also university researchers or consultants. Look over maps, walk your neighborhood, know the threats around you.

Merrill Ridd/Professor of Geography: "MOST OF ALL WE NEED PEOPLE OF CONSCIENCE WHO ARE AS CONCERNED ABOUT THE COMMON GOOD AS THEY ARE ABOUT PROFITABILITY."

Ultimately who's to blame? Ridd says blame no one or blame everyone. Whichever, he says--either we learn from history--or we are bound to repeat it. John Daley, Eyewitness News.

Ridd argues Utah desperately needs lawmakers to pass a disclosure law that would require developers and realtors to alert new homeowners of any significant natural danger near their property.