The new lake Toquerville
Named for the same leader the town itself honors
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. Utah State Parks took over management in July 2026. Here is the whole project, and the honest word on where recreation actually stands.
By Scott Buehler, Toquerville local
Updated September 2026
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. Utah State Parks took over management in July 2026, which is the clearest sign yet of where this is headed.
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
management to Utah State Parks
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 boat ramp. 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 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 settled is the management. Toquerville's city council voted in July 2026 to hand the reservoir to Utah State Parks rather than run it themselves. 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, with a boat ramp and parking. 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
Keep reading
Where the water story fits the rest of town.
Things to do
The top 7, ranked
Seven picks, ranked, from the rough road to the falls to the new lake filling nearby.
Read the guideThe waterfall
Toquerville Falls
A real waterfall on La Verkin Creek, and the rough road that filters out the wrong vehicle.
Read the guideThe history
The Wine Mission
Six families, an oasis in the desert, and a winery Brigham Young ordered up by name.
Read the guideThe interchange
Anderson Junction
The I-15 interchange and the new parkway carrying Toquerville's fastest growth in 165 years.
Read the guideMoving here
The Parkway Decade
Two markets under one city name, and how to tell which one you are buying into.
Read the guideThe companion
Toquerville, from a local
The waterfall, the new lake, the wine mission history, and the whole honest story in one place.
Read the pageQuick answers
The reservoir, answered.
Not yet. As of 2026 the reservoir was still being built and was not open for fishing, boating or paddling. Utah State Parks took over management in July 2026, so it is the place to check 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.
Utah State Parks. Toquerville's city council voted in July 2026 to hand management to the state rather than run the site itself, since the state runs parks for a living and the town does not.
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 built reservoir 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
Keep going
Continue your Toquerville research.
Eight more doors into Toquerville, chosen for what this page covers.
Questions about Toquerville?
Call me, send a message, or find out what your Toquerville home is worth. No pressure, no obligation.