|
Photo by James Howells |
|
Photo by James Howells |
| River: Virgin |
| Segment: Hurricane Gorge |
| Flow: |
| Date: May 1998 |
| Class: |
| Description: The politics of water in the west... Quail Lake is a 43,000 acre-ft, off-channel reservoir designed to provide irrigation and culinary water to Washington County households. The main dam is visible in the background, with the Virgin River just behind it. Built in 1987, the project diverts water 9 miles upstream {click here to go to the diversion page} at the head of Timpoweap Gorge into a pipeline that supplies the lake. The diversion also supplies water to the Hurricane Canal Company and to 2 power-generation plants. The earth-fill south dike (not seen here) collapsed Jan. 1, 1989, sending a 60,000 cfs flood down the river channel. Fortunately no one was injured in the flood, and property damage was minimal. The dike was rebuilt with roller-compacted concrete. Quail lake ranks as one of the most expensive per acre-ft water-storage projects in the West, with more than $19 million spent on construction, remediation, and reconstruction. One of the significant impacts the project has had on the Virgin River ecology is on native (and endangered) fish species. By removing water from the channel upstream of Pah Tempe Hot Springs, the water downstream of the springs is now saline for several miles. |