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Show Who drained Tibbie Fork? Miscommunication sends water, fish downstream The peaceful atmosphere surrounding Tibbie Fork Reservoir in the North Fork of American Fork Canyon drew upset cries from fishermen and agencies last weekend when water was lowered in the reservoir. Agencies governing the reservoir - - and there are several - say the lowering was the result of a "misunderstanding" and that by Monday afternoon the reservoir was refilling. Farrell V. Larson, president of the American Fork Irrigation Company, says the question is who has jurisdiction over the water in the reservoir - do the irrigation companies com-panies served by the reservoir (the American Fork, Alpine, Lehi, and Pleasant Grove Irrigation Companies), Com-panies), or does the Division of Wildlife Resources? Larson explains improvement work is needed at the Little Silver Lake reservoir -- built in the late 18O0's or early 1900's high in the cliff's above Silver Lake Flat reservoir and Tibbie Fork reservoir - and it was suggested that possibly the reservoir could be belter served if Tibbie Fork reservoir was dredged. After discussion with various individuals involved with the dam, water in Tibbie Fork reservoir was lowered to the level of the fishery pool. Contrary to some reports, Larson says fish recently planted in the reservoir were not destroyed but either remained in the remaining waters or went into the American Fork river. That was supported by Karen Green, a Wildlife Resources officer, who said a DWR officer checked below the reservoir after the water was released and was able to find one dead fish on a sandbar about two miles downstream. According to Green, most of the fish, some recently planted, went downstream into the American Fork River or its diversions. "It looks like we've had very little loss of fish," she said. "It doesn't look like they've depleated the reservoir completely." Garn Holbrook, president of the North Utah County Water Conservancy Con-servancy District, the agency in charge of maintaining and repairing the reservoir, says there was a misunderstanding between agencies involved with the reservoir. A' possibility, those involved agree, because not only the Water Conservancy District and the four irrigation companies are involved with the reservoir but also the U.S. Forest Service who governs the land and permit; the Wildlife Resource Division who is over the fish; and the Soil Conservation Service who inspects in-spects the dam to make sure it is safe. One problem, according to Green, is that there was no prior notification about the release of the water. "We always like advance notice of that so we can re-arrange our schedule or let people go in and get the fish before the water is released. On this one we weren't notified ahead of time," Green said. The reservoir (designed as a retarding dam with debris and storage basin and fishery benefits) was constructed in the early 1960's as part of the American Fork-Dry Creek Watershed - a Public Law 566 Project administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service. It was dedicated by then Governor Calvin L. Rampton in July of 1966. The 56-foot high earth-fill dam was described by dedication speakers as having a total capacity of 259 acre feet of water. It was built, they said, to take the peak off flash floods in the canyon and to send the water down to the valley with a lower head for use in farm irrigation. News releases at the time said the multi-purpose structure was built to control flood waters and sediments from drainage areas of the North Fork of American Fork Canyon, which covers 36 square miles. Thirteen surface acres of water were to be retained for recreation and fishery benefits. Although the sediment capacity was designed to retain debris and sediment for a 50-year period, Holbrook says the storms and floods of the past few years has deposited more silt in the basin than was expected ex-pected by this time. The Silver Lake Flat reservoir, approximately three miles north of Tibbie Fork, was built after Tibbie Fork and was designed to store 1,100 acre feet of water for late irrigation, and to include 100 acre feet of water for fishery benefits and 24 acre feet for flood or sediment storage. Tibbie Fork Reservoir is located approximately 10 miles up American Fork Canyon at the intersection in-tersection of Deer Creek and American Fork Rivers on the Uinta National Forest. |