The worst of a silt spill at the Tibble Fork Dam has passed. Now health and environment officials are assessing the extent of the damage and risks ahead.
“We’re in response mode right now to be able to alert the public if there are concerns,” Walt Baker is director of the Utah Division of Water Quality. “That will all be spelled out in our release of the data.”
State wildlife officers said Friday morning they could find no living fish in the two miles below the dam. They found some alive and some dead in the next mile downstream, and many live fish in the last four-and-a-half miles. By evening, anglers were being urged as a precaution to release any fish they catch because of heavy metals found in the silt.
Agencies monitoring the spill also said they’d be posting “caution” signs along the river because of the tainted sediment. But they said the water itself is safe enough for irrigation and the spill hasn’t affected drinking water.
The North Utah County Water Conservancy District planned the $7.3 million project to store more water for downstream irrigators. It also was expected to improve recreation and conditions for trout – that is, until fast water picked up sediment from behind the dam Sunday night and turned the creek into slurry and muck.
“This is a pretty visceral impact on the river,” says Paul Burnett of the conservation group, Trout Unlimited. “This is like a punch in the gut just from the fine sediment alone. It’s a huge impact.”
The sediment release could trigger state fines even though it was accidental. Any affects on irrigators or damage to the environment will be taken into account.
