A malfunction on the Scofield well due to a possible lightning strike has been addressed and it is back up and pumping as this small Carbon County town works to fix its drinking water problem.
The town ran out of water earlier this month in its main storage tank, the well failed and its springs dried up.
Lorraine Behling, Scofield town clerk, said water samples have been taken from the well.
The Utah Department of Natural Resources, in its latest drought report, announced the drying up of Scofield’s water supply this week. The report said the Utah Division of Drinking Water authorized emergency measures to keep water flowing to residents.
Ryan Dearing, emergency response coordinator with the Utah Division of Drinking Water, told KSL.com the water supply is starting to come back after the town imposed restrictions on outdoor watering.
Behling added that the town’s mayor had cases of bottled water delivered and Carbon County sent a tanker full of potable water for the town’s 25 full-time residents to fill containers.
A man stands along dry shoreline at Scofield Reservoir on Friday, Aug. 27, 2021.
Spenser Heaps, Deseret News
Two other Utah communities — Echo and Hyde Park — also ran dry on their drinking water supplies this summer due to the drought that is impacting all corners of Utah.
Weber Basin Water Conservancy District is trucking water to Echo, while Hyde Park went to other communities for its supply.
Secondary water supplies are also drying up, with most providers ending the season weeks early.
Water managers are already dipping into reserves in various reservoirs and are urging households and businesses to refrain from using too much culinary water for outdoor irrigation.
The National Weather Service in Salt Lake City said the state is entering another dry spell, but the agency is tracking potential remnants of tropical storm Nora headed toward the Pacific Coast.
