Sevier Bridge Dam Rehabilitation Project

Bowen Collins & Associates led the planning, design, and construction period services for the Sevier Bridge Dam Rehabilitation Project. Owned and operated by the CSBR Company in Delta, Utah, the Sevier Bridge Dam has been impounding Sevier River water for over 120 years and is the largest privately-owned reservoir in Utah. The reservoir serves as the primary storage of irrigation water to sustain tens of thousands of acres of agricultural land and the cooling water required to operate the Intermountain Power Plant.
BC&A utilized advanced modeling software to identify that the dam’s spillway and earthen embankment were deficient in meeting minimum standards for flood and seismic events. This project entailed the design of a new roller gate spillway to resolve the flow capacity issues, and the innovative solution of utilizing granular columns to stabilize the downstream embankment toe, a technology new to dams in Utah. Most challenging, the technical construction effort had to be completed without interfering with the dam’s critical role of storing and delivering water to the lower Sevier River water users.
Culminating in a $22,000,000 construction project with Ames Construction, the project was delivered with less than 2.5% change orders despite surviving Utah’s wettest winter on record without wasting any spring runoff storage. The Sevier Bridge Dam Rehabilitation Project won the 2025 ACEC Utah Grand Conceptor Award and the Association of State Dam Safety Officials 2025 National Rehabilitation Project of the Year.