Environmental Sciences Commons^™

Water Infrastructure Challenges In Urbanizing Environments: A Case Study Of The 2009 Logan Canal Landslide, Kathryn Davis Henderson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In July, 2009 in Logan, Utah, a wet, steep hillside failed, leveling a home below and destroying an irrigation canal that ran along the hill. Three people were killed. The event and the resulting policy changes present an opportunity to uncover how frames, or social constructions, play into the policy development cycle. This case also uncovers the nuances involved when old infrastructure takes on new social meanings. Planners and policymakers that pay attention to frames and social dimensions may be able to minimize conflict.

The landslide received immediate media attention and spurred state legislation on canal safety. The event had …