HYRUM – The Hyrum Dam road will be closed from Monday, October 14 through October 21, and again Tuesday October 29, through Friday November 1, while the Bureau of Reclamation conductS tests by bore sampling of the Dam and the Spillway.
People will have access to their homes, but will not be able to drive on the road, according to a press release.
Kent Kofford, the deputy area manager for the Bureau of Reclamation in Provo Area Office Upper Colorado River Region, said the testing is tied to a 2015 and 2016 study done to investigate the safety of the Hyrum Dam and its spillway.
“We are looking at another soil sample under the dam and spillway,” he said. “It’s about dam safety more specific fixing the spillway. The dam is in really good shape; the spillway is at least 89-years-old.”
“The results of the Hydrologic Risk Analysis indicated the need to pursue remedial actions to reduce risk of dam failure associated with overtopping of the dam, spillway and/or stilling basin walls; erosion of the spillway foundation; and hydraulic jacking of the spillway chute,” the completed 2016 study said. “Operation and maintenance of the Hyrum Project are the responsibility of the South Cache Water Users Association.
The Hyrum dam was built to provide a reliable water supply to southern areas in Cache County.