Quail Creek Reservoir closed Sept. 4-5 for chemical treatment

HURRICANE — Quail Creek Reservoir will be closed to public use Thursday and Friday for a chemical treatment to remove algae.  The water district’s municipal customers will receive treated water from Sand Hollow Reservoir during the treatment. Water quality and deliveries will not be affected.

“Treating reservoirs is necessary to protect and enhance our water quality,” Corey Cram, associate general manager for Washington County Water Conservancy District, said. “This treatment will help mitigate taste and odor issues, which may result from algae infested waters, and ensure we’re delivering a quality product to our users.”

A helicopter is scheduled to drop approximately 40,000 pounds of copper sulfate crystals into the water on Thursday.  Copper sulfate is classified as a general-use material by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and is frequently used as an algaecide in irrigation and municipal water systems.  The crystals are designed to sink to the depths of the water and eliminate algae.

Prior to the treatment, the water district’s dive team will identify areas in the reservoir with the highest algae concentrations for target drops.  The divers will monitor drop zones and the effectiveness of the treatment.

The water district has performed multiple chemical treatments on its reservoirs throughout the years; the last was in 2012 at Sand Hollow Reservoir.

The district’s other reservoirs, including Sand Hollow, will be open to the public for recreational activities during this treatment.

Quail Creek Reservoir

Quail Creek is an off-stream reservoir that receives water from the Virgin River to serve the population and economy of Washington County.  The $23.5 million reservoir was built by the Washington County Water Conservancy District in 1985 as an essential storage facility.  At capacity, it stores 40,325 acre feet.  It is currently 67 percent full.

Washington County Water Conservancy District

Washington County Water Conservancy District, a not-for-profit public agency, was established in 1962 to manage Southern Utah’s regional water needs.  The district oversees the development, stabilization, management, acquisition and conservation of water resources in Washington County in an ongoing effort to provide a safe, sustainable water supply for current and future generations.

Resources

Related posts

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @STGnews

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2014, all rights reserved.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

1 Comment

  • ??? August 30, 2014 at 5:38 pm

    Are they adding some Dixie koolaid to the lake?

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.