From Deseret News archives:
High hazard dams
121 are perched above populated areas across Utah
That may be disconcerting as this year's mountain snowpack is far heavier than during the recent extended drought, posing a tougher-than-in-years test for dams during upcoming spring runoff. One dam in Utah has already partially failed this year (the first in four years), with tense moments occurring elsewhere amid early flooding.
But the good news is that big strides have been made to improve Utah dam safety over the past 15 years. The most dangerous dams have been repaired or replaced (and repair work disclosed they often were in worse shape than feared). Governments also vastly improved monitoring of major dams.
Making progress
A computer-assisted analysis of state records shows Utah has made much progress since the last time the Deseret Morning News looked in-depth at the condition of state dams 17 years ago in 1988.
At that time, officials rated as safe a mere 7 percent of those dams classified as "high hazard," defined as those where failure would likely kill people and cause extensive damage. (Also, that 1988 story reported that several Utah dams had broken in the '80s after not acting on earlier federal studies that warned they were unsafe).
A few months after the old 1988 Deseret News story, one of the few dams that was then considered to be safe the then relatively new, 4-year-old Quail Creek Dike on the Virgin River broke early on New Year's Day 1989.
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