Construction crews rebuilding Quail Creek Reservoir continue to lay down an average of 4 feet of roller-compacted concrete per day - enough to reach a targeted completion date in August.
But state officials caution it may take until June 1991 before conditions at the once-popular reservoir are back to where they were before an earthen dike on the south end broke early New Year's morning 1989, sending a 12-foot-high wall of water cascading 14 miles downstream through Washington County.No one was injured in the flooding, but damage is now estimated at more than $14 million.
The reservoir currently stores about 200 acre-feet of water, compared to more than 600 acre-feet of water before the dike broke. In addition to critical water storage, the reservoir had become the region's most popular water recreation destination.
Quail Creek State Park on the shores of the reservoir remains open to the public, but visitation - estimated at 50,000 to 60,000 prior to the breach - is estimated at one-half what it was.
"People just don't know it's open," said regional parks director Roy Birrell.
Fishing is still prohibited on the reservoir until state biologists can determine later this summer how many fish were lost. "We don't think that many were lost downstream," Birrell said.
The 1990 Legislature appropriated $12.5 million to the Division of Water Resources for a no-interest, 20-year loan to local water users to rebuild the dam - this time with concrete.
The dam is considered an irreplaceable element in Washington County's ability to meet the demands of continued growth, particularly in St. George. "Growth in this part of the country is always limited by the scarcity of water," said Rep. Haze Hunter, R-Cedar City.
Hunter said some of the water that would have been held in reserve at Quail Creek is now going downstream into Nevada and California. And if downstream states become accustomed to using that water, Utah could lose its claim to the water.
"We'll have a real hard time getting it back," Hunter predicted. And without it, there will be no more growth in one of the state's fastest-growing regions.
The 1989 Legislature appropriated funds for planning and design of a new reservoir, while actual construction by ASI-RCC began March 28. The new dam will incorporate a number of instrumentation devices to help monitor seepage, considered a factor in the failure of the old dike.
Overseeing ASI-RCC's work on the new dam is Morrison Knudsen Engineers Inc., of San Francisco. Morrison Knudsen has three full-time inspectors and six quality control technicians watching progress on the 2,000-foot-long dam.
After completion, the dam will be filled slowly to test the concrete dike. It may take until June 1991 to re-fill the reservoir to pre-1989 levels, officials said.