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Show —- - ore reel ahi a .. mene Timp Canal:Leaks PAGE 16 WASATCH COUNTY COURIER TUESDAY LUE Th Frank Mensel didn’t know he’d be getting his own waterfall until the Timpanogos Canal started leaking. “Central. Utah should assess cost-efficient Central Utah Mike Chambers, an engineer at _informed of the canal problem when they got ealdie the CUWCD field office, said. that © » permits for their homes. Most of the residents affected -CUWCD already has plans on’ the are not originally from Wasatch County. _ drawing board for fixing some of the Claude Hicken, the chairman of the board for the ’ leakage and stability problems with Central Utah Project (CUP), which also has authority the canal. It is expected that these. _ over the CUWCD, has stated that many of these leakproblems will be solved before the age problems were exacerbated when developers and canal starts running again next year. residents in the area excavated foundations for their When the canal empties this year in homes with explosives. According to him, the explothe next month or so, construction, ~sives disturbed the already fractured hillside and will begin. He was not quite sure allowed new water channels to be created. According . Whether those sections that - are to Hicken, there was also.a problem. pg someone - planned to be repaid)were eeones removed soil fron the vicinity undermined a portion o f'the canal ba nk esident n Vi er e tare Although the original problem may not ‘have been Water Conservancy District (CUWCD) Potential solutions: include putting in “cement created by the CUP or the CUWCD, residents in the the problem areas and. come up with a. walls, a ‘bentonite or Clay" lining, or a pipeline to community believe the majority of the responsibility solution...” He also wrote that “the” renee! the existing canal. for their ‘continued problems rests squarely on Water Conservancy - District” ought to: _ The primary cause of this teokae is the fractuted -Hicken’s shoulders, According to Keith. Baker, an assess the problem and attempt to accom modate the slate that comprises most of the hill that the canal runs” _affected resident, he has tried for several years to get property owners by giving certain sections a high priority.” of the canal through. Since the hillside is made up of this fractured rock, water can escape from the canal and travel CUWCD owns the Timpanogos canal and is liable _ downhill into other parts of the neighborhood where it for any damages it causes if there is a break. It is also eventually resurfaces. Indeed, portions of the canal responsible for any maintenance work that needs to be. have been leaking for over 90 years according to some done on the canal. According to Utah state law, “The individuals familiar with the area. owner of any canal shall maintain the same in repair In many cases, real-estate agents who sold lots to So as to prevent waste of water or damage to the propresidents in the area never informed them that there erty of others.” The residents in Valley Hills claim the was a leakage problem with the canal. Many of the lack of maintenance on the canal wastes an awfully lots were sold in the winter when the canal and surlarge amount of water as well as damages their proprounding land was dry or covered in snow: Several erty. residents in the area also claim that they were never Hicken to address the problem with the canal with no SUCCESS. According to Baker, Hicken would not even admit there was a problem fora whole year. And then last year Hicken promised to line the canal with bentonite and never did. Hicken claims that the construction company that has the contract for reconstructing the canal has several more years in which to fulfill their obligations. Even though this is the case, Hicken stated at a recent Heber City Council meeting, “[This canal] is a problem we ‘want to work together and solve.” | Claude Hicken was recently criticized by a Utah state audit on the Central Utah Project for gross mismanagement of the organization’s financial resources as well as having serious conflicts of interest and possibly illegal consulting contracts with the CUP. Over the years, the leaks from the canal have gotten consistently worse. As the water has created new underground channels, more water has been able to escape the canal. Water seepages can now be spotted over 200 yards away from the canal. In addition, their courses have changed over the years. On the Swenson property, the water used to run: down the left side of the house, last year it ran through the house, and this year it is running on the right side. These changing water channels have caused problems for other residents in the community. Some residents that would like to move from the area have not been able to sell their homes. Those that own undeveloped lots have not been able to build. And some have had to spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, repairing damage caused by the leaky canal. Many residents in the area wonder why the city or county ever allowed development to take place in this Valley Hills residents aren’t the only ones who should be concerned about the leaking Timpanogos Canal--Heber City, sitting beneath Valley Hills, also lies under the canal. Any leakage or seeping of the canal could ultimately affect the rest of the town. area. If the canal has always leaked, how did the developer(s) get permission to subdivide the land for homes in the first place? |