There was a large turnout at last night’s Talkabout at Rocky Vista University, with a lot of questions and answers about Dry Wash Reservoir. Most of the evening was devoted to answering questions from the audience, after a presentation from Zach Renstrom, General Manager of the Washington County Water Conservancy District.
Some misconceptions were cleared up, but a lot of resident concerns voiced last night remain. To deal with those, the Mayor announced the City will begin a series of meetings at City Hall to work towards resolving these issues.
There was also a 5-minute presentation by Ivins resident Wayne Pennington. Wayne presented an alternative design that would significantly reduce, but not eliminate, some of the problems the reservoir will create. He is a PhD geophysicist and a retired Dean of Engineering at Michigan Technological University.
Zach Renstrom (WCWCD) impressed me as the typical bureaucrat. He started off by saying anyone who wasn’t a resident 20 years ago is here thanks to Sand Hollow reservoir. That’s odd, does he not know there are many wells providing potable water? Kayenta has been on well water since the start.
Zach made it clear that without the proposed dry wash reservoir he will not supply Ivins with the water he agreed to provide. That is extortion. Is it really appropriate? Shows the kind of person we are dealing with. One would think a person in Zach’s position would be cautious about agreeing to provide water that he admits he does not have. The proposed dry wash reservoir will not be potable water so the water Zach has promised is coming from somewhere else. Apparently non-potable water will be traded for potable water, but the details were never disclosed. Wonder why?
Wayne Pennington put together an excellent presentation describing some modifications which should be seriously considered by the WCWCD. He obviously did a great deal of research and is an expert in the field. Unfortunately, the WCWCD did not care and said they will build the reservoir their way.
It is disrespectful to praise the people of Ivins for our progress in water conservation but then not take their concerns seriously. We did our part for what?
Hopefully the Ivins City Council will say no to this reservoir.
Hello Mke,
I’ve reviewed Wayne Pennington’s video which is well presented, however,
I’m not convinced exposing earth/mud during low water times will result in bugs and blowing dust.
As noted in my email to Shelly Lapkoff, I live about 600 ft from Ivins Reservoir (since 2003). The water levels change dramatically several times a year. I’ve never noticed blowing dust from the reservoir. In hot months, bugs/gnats can be annoying during the evenings but during most of the day they’re not enough of a problem to cause visitors or myself to leave the area. Most visitors are in bathing suits with much exposed skin.
Friends who live on Tuweap in Kayenta, which is more distant from Ivins Reservoir, are not bothered by bugs/gnats, even during evenings. So while it’s possible there could be gnat problems in the evenings for future homes built by Kayenta Development, depending on proximity, I doubt there would be problems for residents in nearby Ivins.
Unless soil or other conditions at Dry Wash are extremely different than Ivins Reservoir which would exacerbate the gnat/dust problems, I don’t see the need to reduce the capacity of Dry Wash. Unless someone can prove otherwise, I believe the benefits of full capacity outweigh local concerns.
Andrew
WILL THIS SO CALLED WASTE WATER PLANT
STINK UP THE AIR
CAN YOU POST HOW MUCH MONIES THE WATER DEPARTMENTS GET AND RECEIVE AND CASH FLOWS TO WHO ? NOT ONLY IN WASHINGTON COUNTY AND BUT ALL OVER .
HOW CAN THIS MONEY BE SPILT THE PIE TO US ALL NOT JUST A FEW GOVERNMENT WORKERS AND SO CALLED MANAGERS . CAN YOU GET THIS INFO ON IVINS CITY WEBSITE ? THANK YOU FOR HOW OPEN YOU ARE TO THE PUBLIC . MAYBE YOU SHOULD RUN FOR MAYOR
YOU SHOW YOU WORK FOR US . MOST OF POLITICIANS THINK THEIR BETTER THAN US THE RESIDENTS AND TAX PAYERS