By Scott Brady
The new Sand Hollow Reservoir in Southern Utah will be a cool spot in the sun for tourists, and an additional boost to the Washington County water supply.
The reservoir is positioned in a natural sand bowl about 10 miles east of St. George on a 20,000-acre section of land.
While completion to begin filling the reservoir with water is scheduled for late fall 2001, it will not be ready for recreational until the soil has had time to compact - about three to five years.
'The main purpose of this reservoir is to provide a good, solid basis of water to meet the short-term projected growth of Washington County, and it will give a significant recreation benefit to the whole Southwest Utah area,' said Ron Thompson, district manager for the Washington County Water Conservancy District.
Sand Hollow will be surrounded by sandy red beaches and have a capacity of about 50,000-acre feet, which is 10,000 more than the nearby Quail Creek Reservoir.
Jim Crisp, field office manager for the Bureau of Land Management in St. George, said the reservoir site will be principally managed by Utah state parks, and will have at least three campground facilities. The reservoir will be used for all kinds of water-based recreation.
'This may involve everything from fishing to boating to skiing, personal water craft and the picnic and beach play,' Crisp said. 'And then immediately people can get on an ATV and head under the road and come on the 15,000 acre BLM land.'
There will be a few thousand acres of sand dunes on the land for unrestricted play, he said.
According to the Water Conservancy District, water to fill the reservoir will originate from the Virgin River at the existing Quail Creek Diversion Dam and will be pumped from the diversion in the existing pipeline to Sand Hollow.
Another 60-foot pipeline is being constructed south of Sand Hollow that will run down hill to Quail Creek so that the water can be propelled by gravitational flow from Sand Hollow to Quail Creek or it can be pumped back up hill to maintain both reservoirs at proper functioning levels.
'I think the regional impact is estimated to be about $21 million a year,' Thompson said. 'So there''s a huge economic impact recreationally, and that''s not counting the more important aspect - the value of the water.'
James Grey Larkin, former mayor of St. George, said building this reservoir project is critically important for the county.
'I think it is coming along very well,' he said. 'I have not heard any controversy or any negatives from the people in the area.'
'We will all use the water, it''s not just St. George''s water, it''s the Washington County Conservancy''s water, so we will all use it,' Larkin said.