This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A year after a popular Utah watering hole was shut down to rebuild a dam, a new and enlarged Tibble Fork Reservoir was re-opened for public use Tuesday in front of an early-summer heat wave.
The federal Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), which financed the $10 million project, welcomed the public back to the American Fork Canyon lake in a ribbon-cutting. The 50-year-old earthen structure needed to be rehabilitated because it was at risk of failure and its reservoir had filled with sediments laden with toxic metals from upstreaming mining operations.
It was those sediments that had turned the project into a nightmare when the dam's owner North Utah County Water Conservancy District emptied the reservoir last August. The outflow pushed 5,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediments down the creek, killing fish and depositing heavy metals on the stream bed for several miles. The district agreed to pay $145,000 in fines and restitution to resolve several alleged water quality violations arising from the spill.
But officials did not dwell on the spill, which complicated the project last fall as contractors trenched a new channel to divert the creek around the lakebed. The lake re-opening was delayed because of heavy snows, not because of the spill, according to NRCS spokesman Gary McRae.
The project raised the dam 15 feet, more than doubled the lake's area to 21.6 acres, added 120 acre feet of storage capacity and extended its life by another 71 years.
The work also improved irrigation water delivery and recreational opportunities provided by the dam, NRSC officials said. Trail improvements along the south shore of the reservoir are planned for later in the fall.
A sandy beach area was established on the reservoir's north shore, so anglers and visitors won't have to stand in muck as the lake level recedes during the summer when the reservoir is tapped for irrigation. The 83-stall parking lot was reconfigured and a one-acre parking area was added below the dam.
Forest Service officials believe about one-third of the 1.9 million who visit American Fork Canyon every year go up Tibble Fork, where the reservoir is the centerpiece of numerous outdoor recreation opportunities.
Brian Maffly covers public lands for The Salt Lake Tribune. Maffly can be reached at bmaffly@sltrib.com or 801-257-8713.
Twitter: @brianmaffly