Jiggs Reservoir to Get Assistance

For nearly five years Jiggs Reservoir, approximately 30 miles south of Elko, has been a reservoir in name only with no water to speak of. However, the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management, Elko County, Barrick, Newmont and private landowners is now in the process of improving this once popular reservoir and dam so that it will once again hold water.

"The dam, which was built more than 100 years ago, is in poor shape due to burrowing animals and vegetation growth," explains Jeff Petersen, NDOW fisheries biologist. "The bottom of the reservoir also needs to be fixed because of seepage due to soil types."

According to Petersen, the top layer of the dam will be removed and the whole structure will then be rebuilt. Three acres of the reservoir bottom next to the dam will be deepened and bentonite clay will be mixed into the soil. Bentonite is a natural clay that is fast expanding and holds water very well. This should solve the problem of water seeping through the bottom of the reservoir.

Learn more here: http://www.ndow.org/Jiggs-Reservoir-Receive-Much-Needed-Attention/