Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
ST. GEORGE — When a 4.5 magnitude earthquake rumbled through southwest Utah last month, employees of the Washington County Water Conservancy District immediately fanned out across the county to check on the dams that store one of the area's most precious resources.
"With an earthquake of that size, it was enough of a concern that we sent myself and three other employees out to check all the dams in the district all the way from Quail Creek to Kolob," David Jessop, the water district's operations manager said as he stood outside with Quail Creek Reservoir's southern dam in the background.
"Within two hours of the earthquake, we were able to get all of the dams checked and ensure their integrity," he said.
The July 28 earthquake occurred 15 miles south of Brian Head at 11:29 p.m. and was felt region-wide, as previously reported by St. George News. According to the United States Geological Survey, a 4.0 quake can cause moderate damage.
