State to review role in canal oversight

Utah's Executive Water Task Force has been instructed by Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert to review the state's responsibility for oversight of 5,300 miles of canals.

The edict comes nearly one week after a massive landslide on a hillside in Logan slammed into a rental house on East Canyon Road, burying and killing a mother and her two children. The force of the slide moved the house 20 feet off its foundation and buried it under 15 to 25 feet of mud and debris. Several other homes in the area were damaged and some residents were forced to evacuate their homes for days.

"The tragic case in Logan highlights a need to take a comprehensive look at the state's canal system, which serves a crucial role for many Utahns," Herbert said in a prepared statement. "It is important to craft sound public policy to protect the safety of our citizens while also protecting the states's water supply."

After four days of searching, emergency crews recovered the bodies of Jacqueline Leavey, her 12-year-old daughter, Abbey Alanis, and her 14-year-old son, Victor Alanis, Tuesday evening.

Herbert has asked that the task force identify where the responsibility for oversight and regulation of canals lie, how this oversight could be achieved and who will begin identifying "high-hazard" canals in the state.

The exact cause of the landslide on July 11 is still unknown. However, on Monday Francis Ashland, senior geologist with the geological hazards program at the Utah Geological Survey, told media there were three possible factors: the extremely wet June, in which the Logan area received 3.4 inches of rain, or 250 percent of normal; people watering lawns, even along the hillside; or the canal itself was leaking.

Mark Nielsen, director of Public Works for Logan, said he did not believe there was "blame" to be given. He said he had to believe the Logan Northern Irrigation Co., which operates the canal, upheld its duty of routinely checking the canal. He admitted, however, that there is no standard for canal inspections in Logan.

The task force is composed of engineers, legal experts, state lawmakers, canal owners and representatives from the Utah Farm Bureau and various water conservancy districts. They are expected to address Herbert's questions at a meeting scheduled for Aug. 4, according to a release from the Lt. Governor's Office.

"We are certainly concerned about the status and condition of Utah's canals and agree that it is time to examine, in a public forum, how we can protect the public and be fair to water users," said Michael Styler, the executive director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources and task force chairman.

Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, secured $400,000 in federal funds Friday to study why the canal broke. The funding allows the U.S. Department of Agriculture to examine the canal, identify risks and begin repairs. The money comes out of earlier appropriations Bennett had secured for the Utah Conservation Initiative.

e-mail: cnorlen@desnews.com