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LOGAN — A canal break that killed three people and devastated the city of Logan three years ago has prompted state engineers to make some changes.
The engineers say they're now ready to start re-building the irrigation system, making the area safer. But not everyone is happy with the project.
The small canals on the northeast side of Logan have been landmarks in the community since the 1880s. Marlow Goble, who lives near such a canal, says he's enjoyed having it in his backyard and as part of the Logan Country Club.
"People have developed it into their landscaping, and it's part of the reason they're here," Goble said, "and it's part of their heritage."
But the pioneer-era canals proved to be a major concern in July of 2009, when the barrier around one canal on the south end of Logan broke. The rushing water wiped out a nearby home, killing a mother and her two children inside.
City and county crews worked for days clearing the rubble left covered in a mudslide. Now, after three years of study, state engineers are ready to move the flow from that canal and combine it with another canal that runs along the Castle Heights subdivision.
"We're gonna double the amount of water that was originally in that canal," explained Bronson Smart.
Citing safety concerns, Smart said engineers also plan to encase the larger stream in an underground pipe designed to contain the flow and keep it out of reach. He also said it needs to happen soon.
"Farmers have been only getting 50 to 60 percent of their water delivered, and (still) trying to irrigate their crops," Smart said.
Goble and other homeowners fear the changes will come at the expense of their neighborhood.
"It's something that should be done," he said, "but it doesn't have to be put in a 66-inch pipe."
Many who live near the canals say they're asking engineers to consider putting in just a 3-foot pipe underwater to contain that extra flow, leaving the rest of the waterway open. Construction could begin later this month.
