Professional engineer and retired college dean says design of proposed Southern Utah reservoir is poor and poses a risk to public safety
Residents cite concerns about dust and invasive trees for their opposition to the project.A $22 million reuse reservoir the Washington County Water Conservancy District proposes to build in the middle of an Ivins residential community is poorly designed and will pose a safety risk to residents.
Pennington’s verdict on the district’s reservoir design, which resulted from his own research and report he prepared on Dry Wash, was delivered before an overflow crowd that packed the Ivins council chambers for a work session Thursday. The session was focused on potential problems with Dry Wash Reservoir, which is a key component of water district officials’ plans to amass another 47,000 acre-feet of water by 2042 to keep pace with growth.
Another concern is that nearby homes are at 3,020 feet elevation, 24 feet lower than the high-water level proposed in the reservoir’s current design which also calls for a 66-foot dam that critics worry might leak and seep into the groundwater and cause flooding.Further exacerbating matter safety and public health concerns, Pennington and others voiced at the work session, is the problem posed by dust.
Washington County Water Conservancy District general manager Zack Renstrom talks about the importance of Dry Wash Reservoir at a public meeting Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024, at Rocky Vista University in Ivins. Ivins Mayor Chris Hart is seated onstage to Renstrom’s right. District officials did not comment on the concerns over the design of the reservoir during the work session. But district general manager Zach Renstrom recently told The Tribune that the current design is sound, has undergone rigorous analysis and has been subject to extensive review from the state and an independent third party. He also said the district has not encountered dust problems at its other reservoirs.Last week’s work session was not a public hearing.
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