SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Two months after a broken water main flooded 15 homes in Salt Lake City’s Poplar Grove neighborhood, displaced families are still waiting for answers about repairs, housing and damage claims.
On Tuesday, the Salt Lake City Council approved $50,000 in additional assistance for residents affected by the flooding. The city says the funding is separate from individual property-damage claims and will prioritize temporary relocation and stabilization, though repair help could also be available on a case-by-case basis.
For Irene Bahena, the new assistance does not change the immediate task ahead: moving her family’s belongings out of the backyard before heavy rain arrives.
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Bahena and her family now have a rental house, but she said they return to the damaged property every day to cook, watch over their belongings and pack them into storage.
“I need my home back, please,” Baena said. “My life is sad every day. I need my house.”
Bahena said her husband had been sleeping outside at the property before the family moved into the rental. With rain expected this weekend, she said the family is focused on protecting what remains.
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“I need to move all my stuff, put it in the storage box today and tomorrow before the rain,” she said.
Down the street, Willa Mae Graham said her home remains unsafe after the flooding.
“Right now it’s not safe to live in,” Graham said. “The floors are falling in. The walls are falling in.”
A structural engineer inspected Graham’s home Wednesday. She said the family still does not know whether it can be repaired or must be rebuilt.
Graham said the city sent her partner, Tom Newman, an estimated $36,000 repair appraisal. She said that's not enough.
“I don’t think it’ll cover to put a foundation under it, which is what it needs,” Graham said.
The city said individual claims are managed by Risk Management within the City Attorney’s Office. A third-party contractor prepares estimates using actual cash value, which accounts for depreciation under city code.
City officials said they are reviewing appraisals with homeowners but declined to say how many estimates have been provided or the range of those estimates. The city said a release is signed when a homeowner and the city reach an agreement.
Graham’s son, Austin Shavanaux, is now staying in an RV provided through UDOT after sleeping in a tent beside the trailer Graham and Newman share.
“It’s not a house, but it’s home,” Shavanaux said. “That’s exactly what we needed right now — somewhere that we can rest while getting everything taken care of in there.”
The city said five homes remain unoccupied. Officials said assistance has been offered to all five families: one has been placed in housing coordinated by the city and UDOT, two families are choosing to stay on-site and two are staying with relatives.
The $50,000 approved Tuesday is limited and intended to complement—not replace—the claims process. City officials said money may be used for relocation, stabilization, rehabilitation or repairs, depending on each family’s circumstances and remaining funds.
Bahena said she has not received an individual offer from the city.
For Graham, temporary housing is not the same as resolution.
“Either this one or a new one,” she said. “As long as we have our little life back.”