05-21-2006, 06:15 AM
Looks like by the time this year is over, they'll be somewhat starting over on the new south jetty at the Provo State Park.
Saturday, May 20, 2006 New south jetty in Utah Lake nearly submerged [url "javascript: void(0);"] PDF [/url] [url "javascript:void(0)"] | Print | [/url] [url "javascript: void(0);"] E-mail [/url]
CALEB WARNOCK - Daily Herald
Water has overtopped more than 50 percent of the new south jetty at Utah Lake State Park -- and the lake is expected to keep rising.
Near the south jetty early on Friday afternoon, clouds of tiny flies and gnats hovered along the jetty, seeming to appear suddenly in the air accompanied by the collective buzzing roar of their wings. Every boat that passes outside the jetty leaves behind a wake that crashes against a berm of boulders that crews installed as an stop-gap this spring to keep the entire jetty from being washed away as the lake level began to rise, bringing waves ever higher.
The new portion of the 2,000-foot jetty, which angles to the south, is more than 50 percent submerged. So much water is here that tide pool-like puddles are home to dozens of tiny baby fish. Walking along the jetty, visitors can see thousands of these fish in the shallow water among the rocks on both sides of the jetty.
What is not underwater here is only an inch or two away from being submerged.
Utah Lake is already more than 7 inches above the so-called compromise level, the level at which managers open flood gates to allow excess water to flow into the Jordan River, said Daryl Devey of the Central Utah Water Conservancy District. To keep up with heavy runoff, those flood gates are now open, releasing 1,000 cubic feet of water every second.
Water levels here could reach as high as 12 inches above compromise, he said. Evaporation is the only thing keeping the lake from rising even more.
"These hot days evaporate a ton of water off the lake," he said, noting that while the water level is still rising, "it is not climbing as fast as it was three weeks ago."
The park has applied for money to raise the entire jetty another 3 to 4 feet, said Ty Hunter, manager of Utah Lake State Park. That project would begin in late fall at the earliest, and perhaps not until next spring.
While there has been some minimal sinking and other damage as the jetty has become submerged, the berm has kept the entire jetty from being washed away, Hunter said.
The jetty has been closed to motor vehicles since February but visitors are still welcome to walk out or ride bikes as far as they wish, he said.
Though there was no one on the south jetty early Friday afternoon, sport fishers still use it occasionally, Hunter said. Most anglers opt for the north jetty, which is not submerged.
In April water from waves had already eroded the new south jetty 1-1/2 feet in some places, Hunter said.
Hoping to improve boating on Utah Lake, crews have spent more than $1 million working to reconfigure the harbor, which had been made up of two parallel earth-and-concrete berms.
Because the parallel design allowed the harbor to collect wind-blown silt, making it more shallow each year, last year the Army Corps of Engineers removed 800 feet of the existing 2,000-foot-long south jetty. A new arm of the south jetty was then added, extending toward the north jetty at a 90-degree angle.
The two jetties now come together to form a mouth about 100 feet wide, but the south jetty takes the full brunt of the lake, Hunter said.
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Saturday, May 20, 2006 New south jetty in Utah Lake nearly submerged [url "javascript: void(0);"] PDF [/url] [url "javascript:void(0)"] | Print | [/url] [url "javascript: void(0);"] E-mail [/url]
CALEB WARNOCK - Daily Herald
Water has overtopped more than 50 percent of the new south jetty at Utah Lake State Park -- and the lake is expected to keep rising.
Near the south jetty early on Friday afternoon, clouds of tiny flies and gnats hovered along the jetty, seeming to appear suddenly in the air accompanied by the collective buzzing roar of their wings. Every boat that passes outside the jetty leaves behind a wake that crashes against a berm of boulders that crews installed as an stop-gap this spring to keep the entire jetty from being washed away as the lake level began to rise, bringing waves ever higher.
The new portion of the 2,000-foot jetty, which angles to the south, is more than 50 percent submerged. So much water is here that tide pool-like puddles are home to dozens of tiny baby fish. Walking along the jetty, visitors can see thousands of these fish in the shallow water among the rocks on both sides of the jetty.
What is not underwater here is only an inch or two away from being submerged.
Utah Lake is already more than 7 inches above the so-called compromise level, the level at which managers open flood gates to allow excess water to flow into the Jordan River, said Daryl Devey of the Central Utah Water Conservancy District. To keep up with heavy runoff, those flood gates are now open, releasing 1,000 cubic feet of water every second.
Water levels here could reach as high as 12 inches above compromise, he said. Evaporation is the only thing keeping the lake from rising even more.
"These hot days evaporate a ton of water off the lake," he said, noting that while the water level is still rising, "it is not climbing as fast as it was three weeks ago."
The park has applied for money to raise the entire jetty another 3 to 4 feet, said Ty Hunter, manager of Utah Lake State Park. That project would begin in late fall at the earliest, and perhaps not until next spring.
While there has been some minimal sinking and other damage as the jetty has become submerged, the berm has kept the entire jetty from being washed away, Hunter said.
The jetty has been closed to motor vehicles since February but visitors are still welcome to walk out or ride bikes as far as they wish, he said.
Though there was no one on the south jetty early Friday afternoon, sport fishers still use it occasionally, Hunter said. Most anglers opt for the north jetty, which is not submerged.
In April water from waves had already eroded the new south jetty 1-1/2 feet in some places, Hunter said.
Hoping to improve boating on Utah Lake, crews have spent more than $1 million working to reconfigure the harbor, which had been made up of two parallel earth-and-concrete berms.
Because the parallel design allowed the harbor to collect wind-blown silt, making it more shallow each year, last year the Army Corps of Engineers removed 800 feet of the existing 2,000-foot-long south jetty. A new arm of the south jetty was then added, extending toward the north jetty at a 90-degree angle.
The two jetties now come together to form a mouth about 100 feet wide, but the south jetty takes the full brunt of the lake, Hunter said.
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