Willard Bay is a man-made fresh water reservoir in the Great Salt Lake, in northern Utah. The bay was separated from the Great Salt Lake in 1964, and has since served as a source of irrigation water and recreation for the northern Wasatch Front metro area.
Willard Bay is a 9,900-acre (40 km2) freshwater reservoir located in eastern Box Elder County, Utah, north-west of the city of Ogden, on the north-eastern floodplains of the Great Salt Lake.
In 1949, U.S. SenatorArthur Vivian Watkins, a Republican from Utah who served from 1946 to 1959, passed through Congress the Weber Basin Project. This project called for the creation of a reservoir to store surplus water from the Ogden and Weber rivers that could later be accessed for use on farmland.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation designed and constructed a 36-foot (11 m)-high earth-filled dike to create the 26.4-square-mile (68 km2) enclosure. The dike, which impounds 215,200 acre-feet (270 million cubic meters) of water, was completed in 1964 by the W.W. Clyde Company, and was named the Arthur V. Watkins Dam. The resulting reservoir was then drained of salt water and refilled with fresh, directly from the Weber River.[2] The bay was named after the nearby town of Willard, which itself was named after the LDSapostleWillard Richards.
A bill in Congress, H.R. 839 and S. 512, The Arthur V. Watkins Dam Enlargement Act, was introduced in the 2007 session to authorize a feasibility study to enlarge the dam.[3] While the bill passed the House of Representatives, it was suspended in the Senate and never became law.
Willard Bay State Parkedit
Willard Bay State Park is located on the eastern shore of Willard Bay. It features two state-owned facilities. The north marina is 15 miles (24 km) north of Ogden. It has 62 campsites, restrooms, showers, full RV hook-ups, and seasonal/transient boat slip rentals. The south marina is 8 miles (13 km) north of Ogden. It is only open April through October, and features 30 campsites with restrooms, 24 of which have full hookups.[4]
^(PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 31, 2009. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
^H.R. 839: Arthur V. Watkins Dam Enlargement Act (GovTrack.us)
^Utah State Parks » Parks » Willard Bay State Park
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Willard Bay.
Willard Bay State Park Website
Arthur V. Watkins Dam Photo and Facts
January 01, 1970
willard, 37917, 13194, 37917, 13194, made, fresh, water, reservoir, great, salt, lake, northern, utah, separated, from, great, salt, lake, 1964, since, served, source, irrigation, water, recreation, northern, wasatch, front, metro, area, contents, geography, h. 41 22 45 N 112 07 55 W 41 37917 N 112 13194 W 41 37917 112 13194 Willard Bay Willard Bay is a man made fresh water reservoir in the Great Salt Lake in northern Utah The bay was separated from the Great Salt Lake in 1964 and has since served as a source of irrigation water and recreation for the northern Wasatch Front metro area Contents 1 Geography 2 History 3 Willard Bay State Park 4 References 5 External linksGeography editWillard Bay is a 9 900 acre 40 km2 freshwater reservoir located in eastern Box Elder County Utah north west of the city of Ogden on the north eastern floodplains of the Great Salt Lake The reservoir is operated by the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District and recreation activities are administered by Utah State Parks and Recreation Fish in Willard Bay include black crappie walleye wiper smallmouth bass channel catfish bluegill and gizzard shad which are unlawful to possess 1 At an elevation of about 4 200 feet 1 300 m the area around Willard Bay features cottonwood and other high desert trees In winter the area is a wildlife area for watching nesting eagles nbsp History editIn 1949 U S Senator Arthur Vivian Watkins a Republican from Utah who served from 1946 to 1959 passed through Congress the Weber Basin Project This project called for the creation of a reservoir to store surplus water from the Ogden and Weber rivers that could later be accessed for use on farmland The U S Bureau of Reclamation designed and constructed a 36 foot 11 m high earth filled dike to create the 26 4 square mile 68 km2 enclosure The dike which impounds 215 200 acre feet 270 million cubic meters of water was completed in 1964 by the W W Clyde Company and was named the Arthur V Watkins Dam The resulting reservoir was then drained of salt water and refilled with fresh directly from the Weber River 2 The bay was named after the nearby town of Willard which itself was named after the LDS apostle Willard Richards A bill in Congress H R 839 and S 512 The Arthur V Watkins Dam Enlargement Act was introduced in the 2007 session to authorize a feasibility study to enlarge the dam 3 While the bill passed the House of Representatives it was suspended in the Senate and never became law nbsp Willard Bay State Park editWillard Bay State Park is located on the eastern shore of Willard Bay It features two state owned facilities The north marina is 15 miles 24 km north of Ogden It has 62 campsites restrooms showers full RV hook ups and seasonal transient boat slip rentals The south marina is 8 miles 13 km north of Ogden It is only open April through October and features 30 campsites with restrooms 24 of which have full hookups 4 nbsp References edit Air Charter WILLARD BAY RESERVOIR PDF Archived from the original PDF on December 31 2009 Retrieved October 13 2023 H R 839 Arthur V Watkins Dam Enlargement Act GovTrack us Utah State Parks Parks Willard Bay State ParkExternal links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Willard Bay Willard Bay State Park Website Arthur V Watkins Dam Photo and Facts Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Willard Bay amp oldid 1179982885, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
