State engineer orders Tropic Reservoir drained; county vows to challenge decision

A state engineer has ordered the gate at Tropic Reservoir raised so the reservoir will be drained, county officials reported during a Garfield County Commission meeting.

The order, the commissioner said during board reports, came from the state engineer’s office and directs control of the gate to state staff. The commissioner said the reservoir was “almost empty” at the time of the call and predicted that by the end of the week it would be “no more,” reduced to a channel.

The county speaker described the reservoir as originally constructed in 1888 and later raised in the 1970s to store more water for local irrigators and recreation. The commissioner said previous state engineers had opted not to drain the reservoir and that the current order followed a change in personnel at the state engineer’s office. The commissioner named Teresa Wilhelm as the state engineer who toured the site and said the state had taken control of the gate.

Why it matters: Residents and irrigators in Bryce Valley and Tropic use the reservoir for agricultural water and summer recreation, including a fishery and campground access. County officials said the reservoir’s loss will likely mean irrigators run out of water by mid-summer and that recreational use will be eliminated for the season.

County response and resources: Commissioners said they have pushed back to the state engineer and plan to continue appealing the decision. The county also said it would offer as many resources as possible to the East Fork Irrigation Company and noted the availability of water in some local conservancy accounts (referred to in the meeting as the “Upper Sevier account”), though specifics of how those funds might be used were not specified during the discussion.

Officials emphasized that the state engineer’s office, with staff in Richfield and Salt Lake City, now controls the gate and that residents with complaints should contact the state engineer’s office. The county said it would continue to press for relief and suggested the county may raise the issue with federal or state officials in Washington, D.C., if needed.

What county officials said they will pursue: The commissioner reported ongoing conversations with staff who manage the county’s water projects and said they will continue to press the state engineer’s office for reconsideration. No formal vote or new county policy was recorded on the issue at the meeting.

Ending: County officials urged residents affected by the order to contact the state engineer’s office and said they will continue advocating for the irrigation company and local users while exploring administrative and potentially legal options to restore water storage at Tropic Reservoir.