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Show Detailed Diking Plans Studies Underway To Dike Great Salt Lake At 4,211 Feet By GARY R. BLODGETT Clipper News Editor GREAT SALT LAKE - Studies are underway to do extensive surveys sur-veys and possible diking of several areas of the Great Salt Lake, it w as announced today by the State Div i-sion i-sion of Water Resources. Department Depart-ment of Natural Resources. JAMES A. Montgomery Consulting Con-sulting Engineers of Salt Lake City, an independent surveying and consulting firm, has been hired by the state to complete the $250,000 diking study. A spokesperson for the Department Depart-ment of Natural Resources said alternatives being considered for diking include: SELECTED sites on the east and south shores of the lake; two dikes from north and south ends of Antelope Ante-lope Island to enclose Farmington Bay; a dike extending southwest from the southern tip of Antelope Island, and a second dike extending extend-ing north from the north end of Antelope Island to Fremont Island and northeast to Little Mountain; and a dike across the mouth of Bear River Bay from Promontory Point to Little Mountain and the Willard Bay Reservoir. The diking study is being undertaken under-taken because of concern for damage dam-age to federal, state, county and private resources around the lake, particularly to those adjacent to the east and south shorelines of the lake, it was explained. IT WAS noted that the study w ill include engineering feasibiity; preliminary pre-liminary (diking) design; construction; construc-tion; maintenance and repair cost estimates; construction schedules and pumping facilities and costs. Dike construction is one of several sev-eral possible solutions being studied stu-died to control the rise of the Great Salt Lake. Also proposed for further furth-er diversion of the lake are the possibility pos-sibility of pumping water into the western desert and a development project for the Bear River water the largest contributary to the Great Salt Lake. PRELIMINARY studies have shown that pumping would be a possible solution -- but extremely costly. Also, there would be problems prob-lems to be worked out with the federal fed-eral government since the land is ow ned by the Air Force as a missile and armory testing facility. Studies for proposed diking w ill be geared to protecting the lake level at 4.121 feet (above sea level) and at 4.217 feet above sea level. THE LAKE level is presently at about 4.208.5 feet above sea level and with a continued wet cycle could easily reach 4,1 12 feet during spring's runoff, according to lake officials. Also included in the study will be consideration for adequate drainage drain-age on the land-sides of the dikes; sub-surface and geotechnical factors: fac-tors: wildlife habitat; and environmental environ-mental assessments, especially of waste landfills and sewage disposal plants. THE STUDY is to be completed by Dec. 24, 1984. Concern is so great because w ith each foot rise of the lake level, the potential damage to lakeside businesses, private and public lands, and other damage skyrockets skyrock-ets by tens of millions of dollars. FOR EXAMPLE, experts predict pre-dict that at 4.209 feet - which will certainly be exceeded next spring - the damage would be about S213 million. An additional rise of just " two feet -- to 4,21 1 feet above sea level the damage would increase by more than S50 million, to exceed $265 million. At 4.211 feet, both the South : Davis Sewage Plant and the sew- age treatment plant on Redwood Road in Salt Lake City would have : to be diked, according to preliminary prelimin-ary reports. The sewage treatment plant in North Davis County would have to be elevated, and the Bav : Area Refusal Disposal (BARD) facility would have to be diked. AND THAT'S only the begin- -: ning. |