Reservoir ready for recreation after mid-July

ALTAMONT — After two years of nonexistent recreational activity at Sandwash Reservoir in Duchesne County, boaters have something to get excited about this summer: They will get to hit the water at the lake near Altamont in July.

Even though the reservoir will not be filled to capacity this summer, the new boat ramp on the southeast corner of Sandwash will be usable after mid-July.

"The boat ramp was part of the construction and was widened," said Ron Stewart, Division of Wildlife Resources conservation-outreach manager. "It will be a real nice facility."

Fish won't be stocked this summer because dam operators may need to drain the reservoir in a few months "to verify the function and seal along the guard gate," said Randy Crozier, manager for the Duchesne County Water Conservancy District.

Pending the completion of the main dam's clay core at Sandwash Reservoir, water will begin rising at a rate of 6 inches a day as the lake begins to fill. At the same time, construction crews will finish up their work on the east dam embankment.

W.W. Clyde Construction and Obioshi Team began work in 2003 to expand the reservoir 10 miles northwest of Roosevelt from 12,000 acre-feet to 24,000 acre-feet. They are expected to wind up construction in mid-June, Crozier said. Formal dedication ceremonies are planned for September.

The $50 million dam expansion project was supposed to be completed in November 2005. But cement shortages and freezing weather helped put the project seven months behind its original completion date, Crozier said.

Irrigation water from Sandwash serves the Ioka and Hancock Cove areas, Upalco, and north Myton Bench.

Water users who depend on the reservoir should see no impacts this summer because of the construction, Crozier said. "It will basically be normal. We will have the storage and regulation ability we had prior to construction."

Sandwash Reservoir won't hold its total capacity of 24,000 acre-feet of water until next year, after it is deemed structurally sound. It currently has 8,400 acre-feet of water, and with the completion of the main dam, will begin rising to its previous fill level.

The enlarged reservoir, built through the Central Utah Project Completion Act, will provide new irrigation, culinary and industrial water for Duchesne County. The plans include a pipeline to the city of Roosevelt, which will make a new source of secondary water available to the city.