Dozens of people gathered beneath a snow-dusted Mount Timpanogos Thursday morning, May 14, to mark the end of key water infrastructure upgrades at Wasatch County’s Deer Creek Reservoir.
Updating Deer Creek Dam’s aging infrastructure has been several years and nearly $100 million in the making. The dam, which was finished in 1941, sits at the southern end of the reservoir and helps supply water to more than 1.5 million Utahns along the Wasatch Front.
Joel Ferry, of the Utah Department of Natural Resources, called Deer Creek the “lifeblood” of northern Utah.
Design of the project began in 2019. Construction started in 2023 and relied on specialized divers.
Jeff Budge is the general manager of the Provo River Water Users Association, which manages the water supply for many northern Utah communities. He said he’s proud to have completed the project without draining Deer Creek Reservoir – especially since 100% of Utah is in drought.
“Why in the world would you drain a completely full reservoir, in a desert, with no assurance that you’re not going to end up with no water to fill it back up again?” he said. “If we had done this in the dry, we probably would have finished a little bit earlier; we’d have finished probably last summer or last fall, and we’d have had an empty reservoir. Imagine trying to fill Deer Creek after this last winter, if that reservoir had been empty.”
Drought conditions also loomed large for Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, who recalled that the project’s start followed a record-high snow year. After this winter’s record-low snowfall, Henderson thanked the project engineers for figuring out a way to get the work done while saving water.
“Everybody who helped make this project possible – thank you,” she said. “And I just want to express my gratitude for the people who came before us, who had the vision and the foresight to build canals and reservoirs and dams so that the paradise of the rattlesnake and lizard could become much more than that: the paradise that we live in and benefit from today.”
Gaylen Stewart, of Granite Construction, said the underwater work required precision and presented many challenges to his team, but it was also inspiring.
“It was like us being NASA and a guy landed on the moon,” he said. “To me, it was that relevant.”
He joked that he finished the project with a lot more gray hair.
“But was it worth the risk now today?” he said. “You betcha.”
Construction included replacing the dam’s guard gates, which manage water levels and reduce flood risks. Crews also updated intake systems, where the water flows to the guard gates.
The dam now has new technology to guard against quagga mussels and other invasive species.
With work on the dam complete, Sailboat Beach will reopen to the public after a three-year closure.
