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SOUTH WEBER — Seismologists and earthquake engineers in Utah have long spoken of "the big one."
An earthquake somewhere along the Wasatch Fault could result in approximately 2,500 deaths, $33 billion in economic losses and 330,000 households without potable water for over 90 days, according to 2015 estimations by the Utah Chapter of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute.
Brady Cox, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Utah State University, said these estimates are at the smaller end of the spectrum due to the rapid growth the Beehive State has experienced since 2015.
"Eighty percent of Utah's population lives within 15 miles of a fault, and a lot of that population is spread right up and down the I-15 corridor, from between Utah County and Brigham City," Cox said.
With this in mind — and especially after 2020 when a 5.7-magnitude earthquake centered in Magna was felt widely across the Wasatch Front — the state is taking measures to solidify its infrastructure to protect against "the big one."
And on Wednesday, another step was taken when the Utah Division of Water Resources and the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District announced an $81 million seismic resilience project for the Davis Aqueduct.
"It's not a question of, 'Is an earthquake going to happen? It is when?'" said Joel Ferry, executive director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources. "So when one happens — and there's a high likelihood that one will happen — we need to be prepared and we need to be ready."
The project — which is critical for protecting water security for over 650,000 residents in the event of an earthquake — includes the installation of 2.2 miles of 72-inch steel pipe running from Weber Canyon to the Davis North Water Treatment Plant.
"This section of pipeline always comes up as the most critical in our 25-26 miles of aqueduct that we've got going all the way to North Salt Lake," said Scott Paxman, executive director at the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District. "I told our board, (an) $81 million project — that was the amount of money that it took to build the entire Weber Basin project including all the dams, reservoirs, pipelines, canals, pump stations — back in the 1950s. So (an) incredible amount of money for just 2.2 miles of 72-inch pipeline and a pump station."
Rep. Casey Snider, R-Paradise, was born and raised in Weber County and, long before that, his family homesteaded the Ogden Valley. This project is about legacy and building on the accomplishments of his ancestors.
"At this juncture, we're in that stewardship phase. We have to build on what has come and take it down to the next generation and that means upgrading where necessary in the event of emergency and those types of things," Snider said. "But I also think it means building a future through planning and projects and investment for the next, at least, two generations. I hope today is the first of many, many projects in this state that are allowing us to continue to grow, continue to build and to continue to flourish as a state."
In September 2023, the Utah Legislature appropriated $50 million for aqueduct resilience projects on the Wasatch Front, as long as the aqueduct crosses the Wasatch Fault Zone, as defined by the Utah Geological Survey, and provides drinking water and supplies water to a minimum of 20,000 people.
Of course, the Davis Aqueduct checks all those boxes.
"About $24 million of that went to this project," said Candice Hasenyager, director of the Utah Division of Water Resources. "If we look at all the aqueduct resiliency projects on the Wasatch Front, there's about $500 million remaining. So we know we have a long way to go but this is a great step forward to achieve it."
In addition to the aqueduct, an aqueduct pump station is also being constructed at the bottom of the system that will be able to pull water, by gravity, from the Davis and Weber Counties Canal Company canal and still supply water to treatment plants in the event of an earthquake, securing drinking water "at least," Paxman said.
The initial 2.2 mile pipeline is estimated to be completed in a year, Paxman added.
