Show upper FF sevier river commissioner reports ad aple survey after recent storm reservoir heights near 1922 record snow covering less than at same time last year augmented by recent storms the amount of water in the diute piute and otter cheek reservoirs is now greater than at any like period since 1922 according to J lerue ogden upper sevier river commissioner who made a survey of con 1 editions and tuesday A 3 report from millard county showed storage in the sevier bridge reservoir as of march 1 to be the greatest since 1926 it is now certain that there will be ample water for irrigation of J all ill lands lanas under the sevier river in garfield piute diute sevier and sanpete counties mr ogden stated however the large amount of water in uthe the reservoirs is due to a great extent to the amount of water held over at the end of the 1937 irrigation season and to the good return flow from the irrigated lands above them the snow cover on the watersheds is probably only about half i as great as it was a year ago in in the southern part and about two thirds as great as it was a year ago on mt lit baldy this fact lessens danger from high water later in the season which in 1922 did considerable damage to farm lands along the river precipitation since march 1 was particularly heavy in the panguitch section where 19 inches of rain fell within one 24 hour period an exceedingly heavy storm for this district the tremendous flow of water in the south fork of the riv er was estimated by old residents to be the largest they had ever seen there it was in this flood stream as it passed through cir cleville canyon that two panguitch men anen lost their lives thursday night when their truck plunged into the river where the road had been un derminer der mined by the flood waters the automatic recorder showed that 2610 second feet of water passed the measuring station near kingston when the flood water was at its highest point accord cing to mr ogden the greatest amount that flowed during the wet year of 1937 was second feet the plute reservoir raised 25 feet during the storm period from march I 1 to march 6 and the storm produced acre feet of water over and above the average flow prior to it and of course left a large amount of snow in the mountains in addition the reservoir is just five feet lower than the high water maik made in 1922 and four feet lower than the highest stage of 1937 it is estimated that the reservoir will be full by april 10 and that by that time the sexier sevier bridge reservoir will have received its original first priority of acre feet the effect of the storm on the east cast fork of the sevier river which drains into the otter creek reservoir was not nearly so marked the maximum amount of water flowing into that reservoir from the johns valley district was vas about second feet and from otter creek about 70 second feet the otter creek reservoir raised about 7 of a foot during the storm period it still must rise seven feet before it is full it will probably fill by may 1 to within two or three feet of its hi high h water mark the river commiss commissioner borer stated the total rainfall at panguitch march I 1 to 4 was inches it was reported that 2 feet of new wet snow fell on 0 n the th e widtsoe escalante summit and an d a like amount on the sevier summit divide precipitation at richfield march I 1 to 9 totaled 63 of an inch |