| Willard Bay | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Willard Bay  Willard Bay | |
| Location | Box Elder County,Utah |
| Coordinates | 41°22′45″N112°07′55″W / 41.37917°N 112.13194°W /41.37917; -112.13194 |
| Type | Reservoir |
| Etymology | Nearby town ofWillard, Utah |
| Part of | Great Salt Lake |
| River sources | Willard Creek Willard Canal |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Managing agency | Utah State Parks and Recreation |
| Built | 1964 (1964) |
| Construction engineer | U.S. Bureau of Reclamation |
| Surface area | 9,900-acre (40 km2) |
| Max. depth | 36 feet (11 m) |
| Water volume | 215,200acre-feet (270 millioncubic meters) |
| Surface elevation | 4,200 feet (1,300 m) |
| References | U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Willard Bay |
| Location | |
 Interactive map of Willard Bay | |
Willard Bay is a man-made fresh waterreservoir in theGreat Salt Lake, in northernUtah. 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 northernWasatch Front metro area.
Willard Bay is a 9,900-acre (40 km2) freshwater reservoir located in easternBox Elder County, Utah, north-west of the city ofOgden, on the north-easternfloodplains of theGreat Salt Lake.
The reservoir is operated by the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District andrecreation activities are administered byUtah State Parks and Recreation.Fish in Willard Bay includeblack crappie,walleye,wiper,smallmouth bass,channel catfish,bluegill, andgizzard shad (which areunlawful to possess).[1] At anelevation of about 4,200 feet (1,300 m), the area around Willard Bay featurescottonwood and other highdesert trees. In winter, the area is awildlife area for watching nestingeagles.
In 1949,U.S. SenatorArthur Vivian Watkins, aRepublican from Utah who served from 1946 to 1959, passed throughCongress 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 onfarmland.
TheU.S. Bureau of Reclamation designed and constructed a 36-foot (11 m)-high earth-filleddike to create the 26.4-square-mile (68 km2) enclosure. The dike, which impounds 215,200acre-feet (270 millioncubic meters) of water, was completed in 1964 by theW.W. Clyde Company, and was named theArthur V. Watkins Dam. The resulting reservoir was then drained of salt water and refilled with fresh, directly from theWeber River.[2] The bay was named after the nearby town ofWillard, which itself was named after theLDSapostleWillard Richards.
Abill in Congress, H.R. 839 and S. 512, The Arthur V. Watkins Dam Enlargement Act, was introduced in the 2007 session to authorize afeasibility study to enlarge the dam.[3] While the bill passed theHouse of Representatives, it was suspended in theSenate and never became law.
Willard Bay State Park is located on the eastern shore of Willard Bay. It features two state-owned facilities. The northmarina is 15 miles (24 km) north of Ogden. It has 62campsites,restrooms, showers, fullRV 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]
