The Holmes Creek Reservoir, known locally as the "Company Pond," is considered Utah's most dangerous earthen dam. However, it has now been drained and is currently being rebuilt to make it earthquake-resistant.
Located just west of U.S 89, between Gentile Street and Oakhills Drive, the dam has become very visible the past month because much of the surrounding landscaping has been taken out.Kevin Hoagland, an engineer with Terracon Consultants, helped design the new dam, also located east of the Valley View Golf Course. Construction crews are removing the old dam's soil, putting it on a nearby hillside and will later replace it after some improvements.
Two of those additions include a gravel core to drain away moisture from the earthen material and also a spillway.
Work on the new dam began Oct. 6, and Hoagland said it will be completed by next spring. He said much of the work can be finished this winter if mother nature cooperates.
The reservoir holds 1,050-acre-feet of water, and the dam was about 70 feet high. The new dam will also retain those same dimensions. It isn't being enlarged, just strengthened.
The construction has created some significant daytime noise for area residents, but Hoagland said the impact of the construction is being kept to a minimum.
"Some people think we're trying to build houses down here," he said.
One reservoir neighbor, Deborah Recksiek, said it's sad to see the reconstruction. She's especially concerned about the loss of vegetation around the dam, having lived nearby for 15 years.
For Recksiek and others in the area, the dam represents a pocket of wilderness in their backyards. Good fishing, hiking and wildlife were all found a stone's throw from their homes.
Recksiek, also a member of the Layton City Planning Commission, said her concern has nothing to do with her city duties. She's simply a neighbor to the reservoir.
"It has been such a beautiful wilderness area," she said. "If you live here, you feel a sense of loss."
Recksiek said it is awe-inspiring though, to see how much man can change the landscape of an area. Three large trucks rotate - almost continually during the day - carrying soil from the dam up a hillside.
Hoagland said after the work is completed, the area will be hydro-seeded to return some of the vegetation. He admits some of the trees can't be replaced.
However, he said workers have spotted deer and the tracks of other wildlife, so they haven't been chased away yet. He said he understands fish will also be replanted in the dam after it's refilled next year.
Layton City also jointly owns some 60 acres of land just downstream from the reservoir and hopes to connect a nature corridor - complete with trails - with the dam someday.
"I'm very excited to see that happening," Recksiek said.