Bennett secures funds to study canal, begin repairs

Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, secured $400,000 on Friday to study why a canal in Logan broke last week and to begin repairs.

"We need to ensure that the public health and safety is not further endangered by any remaining and unforeseen risks from the canal," Bennett said when he announced the funding.

"We must take immediate action to examine the entire canal system, and this funding will allow the experts at USDA (the U.S. Department of Agriculture) to do that," he said.

The Logan and Northern Canal broke Saturday, creating a mudslide that buried a home beneath it, killing Jacqueline Leavey and her children, Abbey and Victor Alanis.

"I am saddened by the tragic loss of life, and I extend my sympathies to the loved ones of the family members killed by the landslide," Bennett said.

The funding allows the Agriculture Department to examine the canal, identify risks and begin repairs. The money comes out of earlier appropriations Bennett had secured for the Utah Conservation Initiative.

— Lee Davidson