Thursday was a much improved outlook for the Panguitch Lake Dam Crisis.
Even with warm weather that was surely melting snow above the lake, not a lot of runoff went into the lake. We would normally feel bad about losing runoff, but with the concerns for the dam’s safety, it is better for some of that thawing to sink into the soil. Hopefully not too much melting will occur in the next few days and the area can benefit from the runoff later on.
The concrete cap of the dam seems to be holding steady as of Thursday. In the afternoon, county officials were just finishing placing the rock along the front side of the dam, and things were much more stable. The concrete, which used to be bending 8 degrees, now only has a 1-degree tilt. We all appreciate the many extra hours that were put in by the Garfield County Road Department and individuals who helped.
Austin Owens, the Water Boss for West Panguitch Irrigation Company, monitored the water releasing. As of 3:00 p.m. Thursday, the water level was down 6 inches from the dam. Authorities said they felt greatly encouraged by this progress. The creek was running high and muddy and very swift, so be sure to keep children away.
According to the SNOTEL website, there is currently 16.1 inches of snow water equivalent at the Castle Valley snow course, upstream from Panguitch Lake. This is representative of the water that would enter Panguitch Lake as the snow turns to runoff. Yesterday the SNOTEL site reported 17.7 inches of water for Castle Valley.
An engineer from the state of Utah was on site for most of the day gathering information to make recommendations for safety and repair of the dam in the future.
The State of Utah will be providing a camera in the future to monitor the dam from the County Jail. Until that is installed, the dam will be watched day and night by county personnel.
Residents should still stay alert in case the situation changes.
We appreciate all who have helped and are sure that they are looking forward to a full night’s sleep soon.
– by Elaine Baldwin
Feature image caption: Panguitch Creek running at 220 cubic feet per second under Highway 89 at the Fairgrounds. Thanks to water release and efforts to lessen the pressure on the dam, the outlook at Panguitch Lake is improved. April 11, 2024. Courtesy of AJ Martel, The Byway.
Elaine Baldwin – Panguitch
Elaine Baldwin is an Editor/Writer for The Byway. She is the wife of Dale Baldwin, and they have three children, 11 grandchildren and one great granddaughter. Elaine enjoys making a difference in her world. She recently retired after teaching Drama for 20 years at Panguitch High School. She loves volunteering and finds her greatest joy serving in the Cedar City Temple each Friday.