After a busy and sometimes scary few days in Panguitch a community meeting was held Wednesday evening at the high school gym. This meeting addressed the situation the community is facing with a crack found earlier in the week in the Panguitch Lake Dam, by Austin Owens who checks the dam regularly for the West Panguitch Irrigation Company.
Owens alerted Allen Henrie, President of West Panguitch Irrigation Company, and they worked Monday to open the dam’s outlet gate in an effort to drain some of the water from the lake and decrease the force on the dam’s upper wall. By Thursday, the outlet discharge had been increased to 220 cubic feet per second, according to the Sevier Water Users Association.
The cracking occurred about two feet below the top of the dam’s concrete wall, which is two feet thick. It is thought the damage was caused by high winds last week that pounded the lake’s thick ice against the top of the dam.
Contrary to earlier reporting by KSL and others, there has so far been no indication the lower part of the dam has been damaged.
Panguitch Lake Dam was constructed in 1872. It was a natural lake and the current dam was made by pioneers using rocks, earth and later cement to increase the size of the lake. The entire dam is 23 feet high and extremely wide at the bottom. It was regularly maintained through the years by the West Panguitch Irrigation Company to store water for irrigation.
In 1942 a concrete addition was placed on the top. This addition is from two to five feet in height, leveling off the old dam. The crack is in that new addition.
The meeting was held to let the public know the extent of the situation and prepare in case of evacuation. Garfield County Sheriff Eric Houston encouraged people not to take the situation lightly and be prepared if evacuation was necessary. He indicated that sirens would sound and the police would knock on every door in town to be sure no one was left who needed to evacuate. Residents would have a little over two hours to be out of town, but he stressed to be ready to go quickly to avoid problems.
Residents can sign up for phone notifications on the county’s alert system by going to public.alertsense.com.
Plans were laid out by Sergeant Ben Cox of the Highway Patrol, who is the Evacuation Coordinator. Papers were passed out with evacuation plans listed in detail. Many of these papers were delivered to homes on Tuesday night by youth and leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ young men and young women organizations. Details were given for school evacuations and are available at each school. The Evacuation Committee is asking people to go east on Highway 89 toward Hatch if evacuation should be necessary.
Many options were discussed, but for now releasing water is the best option. Sandbags are available at the LDS Stake Center on 5th South (100 W) and anyone is welcome to take what they need. Panguitch City will get more if they are needed. Some residents may want to put sandbags around basement windows or low areas around their home.
Options for dam repair and future concerns were addressed in the meeting. Upstream from the lake, the Castle Valley SNOTEL currently reports a snow depth of 45 inches, with 17.7 inches of water, as of Thursday. That reading is 144% of normal. By historic calculations done through the years by Konroy Henrie, former West Panguitch Water Company President, he equates that amount of snow water to about nine feet of water stored in Panguitch Lake. While the water company was able to release two inches of water on Wednesday, there is approximately 15 days’ worth of water left to release before the water level is below the dam’s leak. This drawdown may not be complete before the spring runoff begins.
On Wednesday, the Garfield County road crew placed large concrete blocks all along the downstream side of the dam’s upper wall to help stabilize it for the current time.
Allen Henrie said that he believed that we would still have enough water for gardens and crops if we release this water so we can repair the dam. When the water is lower, engineers will inspect the entire dam to be sure it is safe to fill next year.
Thanks is given to all of those who have helped and to the many people who have offered to help at this time. Little sleep has been had by many involved and others have worked long after work hours are over, and we are grateful for their diligence.
We are grateful for all those who have fasted and prayed with us as requested by Panguitch’s stake presidency. This peace of mind has helped us all to think clearly and focus on the solutions for the problem.
The public was asked not to try to go up to the lake as the road will be closed for the public safety at this time.
– by Elaine Baldwin
Both images courtesy of DPS News Utah.
Read more about the Panguitch Lake Dam:
Panguitch Evacuation Notice Lifted after Progress on the Dam
Panguitch Lake Dropped Over 15 Inches since Release Began
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.