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Council weighs repairing Spinners and Henningsen reservoirs as options to boost Emery's water storage
Summary
Staff and commissioners discussed options to restore Spinners (~750 acre-feet) and Henning(s)en (~450 acre-feet) reservoirs, noting sinkholes and leakage at Henningsen and LIDAR evidence of historic canals that might be reestablished to increase storage.
The council examined water-supply options for Emery, focusing on two reservoirs: Spinners (design capacity about 750 acre-feet) and Henningsen (about 450 acre-feet). Staff reported LIDAR imagery shows historic canal alignments into Spinners and raised the possibility of reestablishing short stretches of canal to move more water into storage.
"Spinners is designed to hold 750 acre-feet. Henningsen, 450," a staff member said while describing sinkhole and leakage problems that led the state engineer to condemn Henningsen years ago. Attendees discussed the technical and cost challenges of lining or otherwise repairing Henningsen's limestone base, and compared repair costs to building a new dam. Several commissioners and staff noted that county road crews could reestablish short canal connections and that a targeted earth-moving project might allow Spinners to send additional water to the outlet.
Council members asked state staff to continue investigating repair feasibility, potential funding sources and whether a lower-basin reservoir remains an option for the town of Emery. Staff also noted timing risks for projects subject to NEPA reviews and related federal processes.
