DISCLAIMER: The material presented on this website has been prepared in accordance with generally recognized engineering/INSPECTION principles and practices, and is for general information only. This information should not be used without first securing competent advice with respect to its suitability for any general or specific application. No reference made here to any specific method, product, process or service constitutes or implies an endorsement, recommendation, or warranty thereof. THIS WEBSITE makes no representation or warranty of any kind, whether expressed or implied, concerning the accuracy, completeness, suitability or utility of any information, apparatus, product, or process discussed here, and assumes no liability therefor . Anyone utilizing this information assumes all liability arising from such use. THE Panguitch DAM AT ITS PRESENT LOWER LEVEL should be FINE but this information should draw attention that the panguitch dam needs to be modernized prior to a potential breach AT HIGH WATER level.
On December 19, 1883, Shadrach Richardson entered into contract with the Federal Government to survey Townships 35 and 36 South Range 7 West. On March 14-27 Both Townships were delineated and plotted creating a Federal survey recorded simultaneously on June 28, 1884 by Fred Soloman (Survey Generals Office Salt Lake City Utah) of the area in and around Panguitch Lake (The Natural Lake). At the very same time in 1883, according to the Editor of the Deseret News at the time, the Panguitch Dam was created at a cost of $1,500.00 a "Product of Jesse W. Crosby's frugal mind." The wall was eighteen feet thick at the bottom and ten feet on the top see PANGUITCH DAM NEWS ARTICLE. It was built twelve feet high from the bottom of the creek at the time and throughout history raised to its current elevation of 8217.40 feet for the dam and 8217.40 for the spillway. The area retained is 780 acres more or less with a storage capacity of 23,730 acre feet according to the Forest Service documentation and agreement for an agriculture irrigation and livestock watering easement recorded in Garfield County public file Book 361 Pages 328-337 on July 30, 2001 by Cindy Talbot, Garfield County Deputy Recorder*. The Dam is classified by the U.S. Forest Service according to Forest Service Manual 7500 as follows:
Height and Storage Capacity (A, B, C, or D) B
Dam Structural Height: 28 feet
Storage Capacity: 23,730 acre feet
Hazard Potential (Low, Moderate, High): HIGH
with a Hazard Rating-High. A High-Hazard Potential Dam – A dam in which failure or mis-operation is expected to result in loss of life and may also cause significant economic losses, including damages to downstream property or critical infrastructure, environmental damage, or disruption of lifeline facilities according to the definition in Dams-Final.pdf - Infrastructure Report Card
The hazard classification of the dam has been reclassified to "High Hazard Potential" and additional requirements since the 2001 agreement have been added including security and remote sensing required by the holder according to wo_7510.doc - USDA Forest Service. To follow the intent of the additional requirements and for security, a barricade should be installed upstream of the dam so no boats would be able to physically contact the dam regardless of engine failure in inclement weather or operator error.
Regular Inspections of the dam and appurtenant structures are required by a qualified engineer and required and as a part of the agreement to determine the state of operation and maintenance at least once every year and an inspection shall be made following earthquakes, major storms, or overflow of spillways other than the service spillway* recorded on page 331 of Book 361 of the Garfield County Recorder's Office. Could this mean at high water level when the dam overflowed in past years and based on the language of the agreement, we POSSIBLY should see an on-site inspection recorded by a Professional Engineer of the dam almost every day the water overflowed to monitor the capability of a scouring event at the base and side nesting areas according to the guidelines as promised by the holder.
Repairs or operational changes recommended by the inspecting engineer shall be made by the holder within a reasonable period of time following the inspection, but in no event later than one year from the inspections (unless...public safety)*
The last inspection for the dam is listed on the UTAH DIVISION OF WATER RIGHTS states Matt Call as the licensed professional qualified engineer and according to the UTAH DAM SAFETY PROGRAM website, Everett Taylor, P.E., Utah Dam Safety Engineering Manager designated for inspecting the Panguitch Dam was on June 15, 2022 at 3:00 P.M. The last inspection prior according to the website was on June 8, 2021.
Piezomoters (or pore pressure meters) are placed at strategic places around the dam to monitor a breach of the dam. You can see a list of the piezometers with their locations and their statistics. UTAH DIVISION OF WATER RIGHTS. The only problem with the monitoring system is it didn't seem to show a piezometer(s) at the parapet wall on the top of the dam when the dam overflows. A company that sells geotechnical data monitoring equipment ENCARDIO RITE recommends that their piezometers are to be embedded no lower than 0.5-1 meter from high water level. As you can see by the above report, the piezometers are not embedded in the overflow parapet wall at all with the uppermost sensor about seven feet below high water. This is troubling because the real hazard to the dam is not the masonry gravity base but the approximate 2' thick x about 7' high x 265 feet long masonry cobble parapet wall that projects above the mass of concrete masonry gravity styled portion of the dam above the existing piezometers. At high water when the dam overflows, there is substantial water flow seepage under that parapet wall which means the stone masonry wall has separated/delaminated in some areas away from its foundational base and side nesting areas. Also the east point of attachment for the last lift of the parapet wall towards the crest is not solid rock in some places but a hard-pan type formation (not solid stone) Pictures of the dam show the curtain wall in a serpentine pattern (curved like a snake) as constructed. The curvature should have been built towards the pressure side-towards the lake. According to the UTAH GEOLOGIC SURVEY when the dam was originally built, it was located over a substantial earthquake gravity fault. Serpentine patterns on the crest of a dam could be a sign of premature dam failure with the extent of the curvature unable to be verified unless documented on red-lined as-built drawings or AS A RESULT OF SLIDING see AUSTIN (BAYLESS) DAM FAILURE 1911 See also PANGUITCH DAM PICTURES
For those who like historical information, you can do a GRAMMA request for these on-site inspections by writing the Forest Service or the Public Dam safety Engineer (UTAH DAM SAFETY PROGRAM website hasn't been updated since 2018):
Everett Taylor P.E. Dam Safety Engineering Manager
Dam Safety Utah Division of Water Rights
1594 W North Temple Ste 220 Salt Lake City, UT 84116-3154
Email: everetttaylor@utah.gov Tel: (801) 698-2377
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
CONTACT YOUR LOCAL REPRESENTATIVE IN DISTRICT 2, Chris Stewart (up for election) and tell him:
US Army Corps of Engineers
Rural Utah Program
FEMA Rehabilitation of High
Hazard Potential Dams Grant
Program Guidance & Resources
USDA Emergency Watershed
Protection Program
Utah Division of Water Resources
Department of Homeland Security
Private Organization Grants from
Nature's Conservancy
Private Organization Grants from
Trout Unlimited
Height and Storage Capacity (A, B, C, or D) B
Dam Structural Height: 28 feet
Storage Capacity: 23,730 acre feet
Hazard Potential (Low, Moderate, High): HIGH
with a Hazard Rating-High. A High-Hazard Potential Dam – A dam in which failure or mis-operation is expected to result in loss of life and may also cause significant economic losses, including damages to downstream property or critical infrastructure, environmental damage, or disruption of lifeline facilities according to the definition in Dams-Final.pdf - Infrastructure Report Card
The hazard classification of the dam has been reclassified to "High Hazard Potential" and additional requirements since the 2001 agreement have been added including security and remote sensing required by the holder according to wo_7510.doc - USDA Forest Service. To follow the intent of the additional requirements and for security, a barricade should be installed upstream of the dam so no boats would be able to physically contact the dam regardless of engine failure in inclement weather or operator error.
Regular Inspections of the dam and appurtenant structures are required by a qualified engineer and required and as a part of the agreement to determine the state of operation and maintenance at least once every year and an inspection shall be made following earthquakes, major storms, or overflow of spillways other than the service spillway* recorded on page 331 of Book 361 of the Garfield County Recorder's Office. Could this mean at high water level when the dam overflowed in past years and based on the language of the agreement, we POSSIBLY should see an on-site inspection recorded by a Professional Engineer of the dam almost every day the water overflowed to monitor the capability of a scouring event at the base and side nesting areas according to the guidelines as promised by the holder.
Repairs or operational changes recommended by the inspecting engineer shall be made by the holder within a reasonable period of time following the inspection, but in no event later than one year from the inspections (unless...public safety)*
The last inspection for the dam is listed on the UTAH DIVISION OF WATER RIGHTS states Matt Call as the licensed professional qualified engineer and according to the UTAH DAM SAFETY PROGRAM website, Everett Taylor, P.E., Utah Dam Safety Engineering Manager designated for inspecting the Panguitch Dam was on June 15, 2022 at 3:00 P.M. The last inspection prior according to the website was on June 8, 2021.
Piezomoters (or pore pressure meters) are placed at strategic places around the dam to monitor a breach of the dam. You can see a list of the piezometers with their locations and their statistics. UTAH DIVISION OF WATER RIGHTS. The only problem with the monitoring system is it didn't seem to show a piezometer(s) at the parapet wall on the top of the dam when the dam overflows. A company that sells geotechnical data monitoring equipment ENCARDIO RITE recommends that their piezometers are to be embedded no lower than 0.5-1 meter from high water level. As you can see by the above report, the piezometers are not embedded in the overflow parapet wall at all with the uppermost sensor about seven feet below high water. This is troubling because the real hazard to the dam is not the masonry gravity base but the approximate 2' thick x about 7' high x 265 feet long masonry cobble parapet wall that projects above the mass of concrete masonry gravity styled portion of the dam above the existing piezometers. At high water when the dam overflows, there is substantial water flow seepage under that parapet wall which means the stone masonry wall has separated/delaminated in some areas away from its foundational base and side nesting areas. Also the east point of attachment for the last lift of the parapet wall towards the crest is not solid rock in some places but a hard-pan type formation (not solid stone) Pictures of the dam show the curtain wall in a serpentine pattern (curved like a snake) as constructed. The curvature should have been built towards the pressure side-towards the lake. According to the UTAH GEOLOGIC SURVEY when the dam was originally built, it was located over a substantial earthquake gravity fault. Serpentine patterns on the crest of a dam could be a sign of premature dam failure with the extent of the curvature unable to be verified unless documented on red-lined as-built drawings or AS A RESULT OF SLIDING see AUSTIN (BAYLESS) DAM FAILURE 1911 See also PANGUITCH DAM PICTURES
For those who like historical information, you can do a GRAMMA request for these on-site inspections by writing the Forest Service or the Public Dam safety Engineer (UTAH DAM SAFETY PROGRAM website hasn't been updated since 2018):
Everett Taylor P.E. Dam Safety Engineering Manager
Dam Safety Utah Division of Water Rights
1594 W North Temple Ste 220 Salt Lake City, UT 84116-3154
Email: everetttaylor@utah.gov Tel: (801) 698-2377
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
CONTACT YOUR LOCAL REPRESENTATIVE IN DISTRICT 2, Chris Stewart (up for election) and tell him:
- Quit spending all your time writing apocalyptic LDS novels and update the Utah Dam Safety Program
- Find long term money through Congress or other funds to modernize, maintain, and upgrade Utah's aging dams especially "high hazard dams"
- Expand rural dams to include hydro-electric generation modernization especially for rural electrification where existing power grids are insufficient utilizing modern technology and passive architecture
- Protect life and property by meaningful flood control projects (retention basins and drainage spillway chutes and box culverts) protecting residents and communities downstream of rural dams so even in the event of a dam breach, water velocities can be minimized through passive retention or attenuation structures
- Provide funding for erosion control through rip-rap and gabions at dam aprons upstream and downstream
- Provide funding for weirs in upper tributaries and storm drainage ditches around Panguitch Lake with regular maintenance to prevent high water velocity point load turbid discharges into a lake by storm run-off
- Enforce the prohibition of construction of structures and dwellings that impact the seasonal point load discharge of water in a "flood-way" raising the turbidity levels in streams that harmfully discharge into lakes or rivers
- Provide Clean Water Programs that irradicate and monitor HARMFUL ALGAE with ultrasound and use satellite uplinking for "real time monitoring" so dam valves and screens aren't affected by algae and hay farmers and ranchers don't have to inhale their neurotoxin by-products when they irrigate and plow their fields
- Provide protection and structural coverage for rural wastewater facilities and sewage lagoons (also to prevent the spread of sars-covid) addressed in harms way by EAPs (Emergency Action Plans)
- Provide quick access quick acting emergency funding without red tape for dam rehabilitation especially for high hazard dams located on geologic faults
- Eliminate the use of rotenone for "fish kills"
- Eliminate noxious weeds like "Mullein" that grow in fire ravaged areas near lakes and streams
- Eliminate controlled (uncontrolled) burns in upstream watersheds performed by State and US Forest Service agencies permanently and utilize mechanical remediation methods for fire breaks because the ash flows into lakes alledgedly cause Harmful Algae Blooms (HABs). Utilize wood fiber from mechanical remediation to rebuild soil through composting in fire ravaged areas like the "Brian Head Fire" instead of selling it to paper companies
- Provide laws that prohibit cars and trucks from traveling on frozen lakes in winter venues throughout District 2
- Provide passive protective nesting structures for eagles and geese so they can reproduce abundantly
- Use your power for good to pass Utah laws that prohibit the operation of trash dumpsters closer than 2 miles downwind of prevailing winds of a lake, stream, or river shoreline like the northshore of Panguitch Lake, Utah
- Provide money to clean watersheds where trash dumpsters are stored for the collection of trash next to the shoreline like Panguitch Lake
-
US Army Corps of Engineers
Rural Utah Program
FEMA Rehabilitation of High
Hazard Potential Dams Grant
Program Guidance & Resources
USDA Emergency Watershed
Protection Program
Utah Division of Water Resources
Department of Homeland Security
Private Organization Grants from
Nature's Conservancy
Private Organization Grants from
Trout Unlimited