The new lake
By Scott Buehler, Toquerville localUpdated October 2026
Chief Toquer Reservoir, a new lake taking shape near Toquerville
A new 3,638 acre foot reservoir is rising near Anderson Junction, built to capture water a decades old reservoir near New Harmony has been losing to seepage. In July 2026 the city voted to back handing the recreation area to Utah State Parks. Here is the whole project, and the honest word on where recreation actually stands.
Around the water
Named for the same leader the town itself honors
The short answer
Chief Toquer Reservoir is a new reservoir taking shape near Anderson Junction, just off I-15 a few minutes north of Toquerville, built to hold about 3,638 acre feet of water across roughly 115 acres. It is the centerpiece of the Ash Creek Project, a regional water effort that runs an 18.8 mile pipeline from the older Ash Creek Reservoir near New Harmony to a better sited basin here. It is a water supply project first. The pipeline captures water the old reservoir had been losing to seepage, and moving that water through the system frees Toquerville's own spring water to stay in the drinking supply. Recreation, the nonmotorized kind like fishing and kayaking, is the hoped for second act once the basin fills, but as of 2026 the reservoir was still being built and was not open for any of it. In July 2026 the city council voted to back handing the recreation area to Utah State Parks, which points to where this is headed. The dam is due to finish about the end of 2026, with the first water expected in spring 2027.
Chief Toquer Reservoir, at a glance
3,638 ac-ft
capacity when full
18.8 mi
pipeline from Ash Creek Reservoir
~$94M
the Ash Creek Project's total cost
Jul 2026
city vote to back a State Parks takeover
Why this project exists
Water lost to seepage, captured instead
The original Ash Creek Reservoir sits near New Harmony, built decades ago alongside I-15, and for years it has lost meaningful water to seepage instead of delivering it where the region needs it. Rather than accept that loss, the Washington County Water Conservancy District built the Ash Creek Project around an 18.8 mile pipeline that captures the water at the source and carries it to a new, better engineered basin near Toquerville.
The numbers give a sense of the scale. The new reservoir is built to hold about 3,638 acre feet when full, covering roughly 115 acres, and it is expected to yield on the order of 1,760 acre feet a year. The project as a whole has been reported at about 94 million dollars, up from an early estimate near 34 million as the scope and construction costs grew over the years it took to reach the ground.
There is a second payoff that matters more to people already living in town than any future lake access. Moving Ash Creek water through this system frees Toquerville's own Toquerville Springs supply to stay in the drinking system rather than being spent elsewhere. So the reservoir is a water security project first and a recreation site second, and it is worth holding it that way before treating it purely as a future lake.
This is a working water project first, a recreation site second. Chief Toquer Reservoir exists primarily to capture water otherwise lost to seepage and to help secure Toquerville's own drinking water supply. Recreation access follows once the lake fills, and current status should be confirmed with the water district and Utah State Parks before planning a visit around it.
The name
Named for Chief Toquer, the same as the town
The reservoir carries the same name the town does. Toquerville, settled in 1858, was named for Chief Toquer, an early Southern Paiute leader whose people lived along this stretch of Ash Creek long before the settlers arrived. Ash Creek, the same water the new pipeline draws on, still runs through the middle of town today.
It is a fitting name for a piece of water infrastructure. The whole project turns on Ash Creek, the creek the Paiute band lived beside, and the reservoir now stores water gathered from that drainage. When you see it on a map or a road sign, the name traces a straight line back to the town's own beginning and to the people who were here first.
What comes next
Built first, filled next, open after that
Here is the honest sequence. The reservoir gets built, then the basin gathers water on a schedule set by snowpack and inflow as much as by any construction calendar, and public recreation comes only after there is enough water to use. As of 2026 the site was still in the building stage and had not yet begun holding water, so any opening date you see for boating, fishing or paddling is an estimate, not a promise. Water this size does not appear on cue.
What is not settled yet is the management. Toquerville's city council voted on July 15, 2026 to back handing the recreation area to Utah State Parks rather than run it themselves. The reservoir itself belongs to the Washington County Water Conservancy District, and the transfer still needs action from the district and the Bureau of Land Management. The plan on record, tied to an agreement with the Bureau of Land Management for the surrounding ground, points toward nonmotorized recreation, fishing and kayaking. Whether any of that is open, and when, is a question for Utah State Parks, and I would call them before driving out to fish.
For now, the honest way to enjoy Chief Toquer Reservoir is to watch it take shape. It is a genuine piece of regional water infrastructure landing on Toquerville's doorstep, the kind a town this size rarely sees arrive in a single lifetime, let alone in the same decade its growth took off.
A lot of towns talk about wanting more water. Toquerville is getting a whole new reservoir, and the honest thing to do is watch it fill rather than promise a fishing season before the water has arrived.
Scott Buehler
Moving Utah About Scott
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The reservoir, answered
Not yet. As of 2026 the reservoir was still being built and was not open for fishing, boating or paddling. In July 2026 the city council voted to back handing the recreation area to Utah State Parks, but the transfer is not final, so check with the water district and State Parks for current status before you plan a trip around the water.
At full capacity it is built to hold about 3,638 acre feet of water, covering roughly 115 acres. That is a real piece of regional water infrastructure, not a small pond.
From an 18.8 mile pipeline that connects it to the older Ash Creek Reservoir near New Harmony, part of the larger Ash Creek Project. The pipeline captures water the older reservoir had been losing to seepage rather than letting it go to waste.
Mainly to capture water lost to seepage at the older Ash Creek Reservoir and secure it for the region. Moving that water through the system also frees Toquerville's own spring water to stay in the drinking supply. Recreation is a genuine but secondary benefit once the basin fills.
Not settled yet. The reservoir belongs to the Washington County Water Conservancy District. On July 15, 2026 Toquerville's city council voted to back handing the recreation area to Utah State Parks, since the state runs parks for a living and the town does not, but the transfer still needs action from the district and the Bureau of Land Management.
An early Southern Paiute leader. Toquerville, settled in 1858, was named for him, and the reservoir carries the same name. Ash Creek, which feeds the project, runs through the town that remembers him.
The broader Ash Creek Project has been reported at about 94 million dollars, up from an early estimate near 34 million as the scope and construction costs grew. Treat that as a figure from public reporting rather than a fixed final number.
Yes, indirectly and positively. Water moving through the Ash Creek Project frees Toquerville's own Toquerville Springs supply to stay in the drinking system rather than being used elsewhere, which supports the town's water security.
No. Chief Toquer Reservoir is a reservoir under construction near Anderson Junction, fed by the pipeline from Ash Creek Reservoir. Toquerville Falls is a natural waterfall on La Verkin Creek, a separate drainage. They share only the town nearby.
New water infrastructure usually means new growth right behind it
A reservoir this size rarely lands near a small town without reshaping what gets built nearby over the following decade. I can help you understand what that actually means for property near Toquerville right now, before the lake fully fills.
Or call me: (435) 357-4345or send me a message
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