Piute Farms and Waterfall

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Waterbaby

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Since there was confusion in the other article about the fish below the waterfall - here is the story re the Piute Farms waterfall....

https://rrfw.org/riverwire/waterfall-still-blocks-san-juan-river

Waterfall Still Blocks San Juan River

A 12-foot high waterfall continues to span the entire width of the San Juan River. The waterfall is located approximately three miles downstream of the popular Clay Hills take-out for the San Juan River segment below Mexican Hat, Utah. This waterfall, called Fatt Falls by local residents, is in a different location from the waterfall that formed in this general area in 1990-1991.

The new waterfall is a result of low water in Lake Powell, formed by Glen Canyon Dam. The San Juan is down-cutting into its sediment delta as the water level in Lake Powell continues to remain low. The river is traveling over a ridge of low sandstone hills well away from the pre-dam river channel, resulting in the 12 foot drop.

Dr. Tom Myers and Tom Martin recently paddled the San Juan from Clay Hills to Fatt Falls in inflatable kayaks. The river was flowing at 6,750 cubic feet per second. The following is from their description of the float:

The river passes the Clay Hills take-out heading west northwest, directly toward the Red House cliffs. In about 1/2 mile, the river turns left, to the southwest, and flows for another 1/2 mile along the base of the Cliffs. The river then turns south at a Class III riffle created by a rocky ridge entering the river on river right. Immediately after this, the river turns southwest again at another Class III riffle. The river proceeds another 1/2 mile and turns to the south again.

In approximately 1/4 mile, the river splits into three channels and pours over a two foot drop. The middle channel was the easiest for the inflatables. This drop is where the earlier Piute Farms waterfall was located in 1990-1991. The river turns to the southwest here and proceeds for 1/2 mile, then turns southeast for 1/4 mile. The river then makes a hard turn back to the southwest. At this point the river runs for 1/2 mile directly to the Fatt Falls pour-over.

The river banks are silt cliffs up to 10 feet high in spots, actively collapsing into the river. In the area just above Fatt Falls, the river's left bank is only a few feet high, with slow current at the shore's edge.

The falls are hard to see from upriver, and all river runners who find themselves in this area should exercise utmost caution. The potential exists for serious damage to watercraft and life threatening injury to occupants who may go over the falls.

Fatt Falls is roughly 1/2 mile west northwest of the old Piute Farms marina. A rough dirt road leads from the old marina site to within 150 yards of the clearly audible waterfall. A small path leads from the end of the road over very soft sand to the waterfall. Taking out at Fatt Falls is NOT recommended. Clay Hills is still the only viable take out for the San Juan below Mexican Hat.

Given the dynamic nature of the river actively cutting into the silt-banks, the present Fatt Falls may be bypassed by the San Juan at some future date. If this were to happen, the old upstream fall, now only two feet high, could quickly turn into a major un-navigable fall once again.
 
This was the marina- 1989 - short-lived it was washed out in a monsoon flood in either 1989 or 1990 - though if you read the Sierra Club FB page and other sites they tend to ignore it was flooded out and allude to the drought.


https://www.deseretnews.com/article...KE-POWELL-HAS-REOPENED-WITH-ALL-SERVICES.html
SAN JUAN MARINA ON LAKE POWELL HAS REOPENED WITH ALL SERVICES
By Vicki J. Barker, Correspondent
Published: June 4, 1989 12:00 am


The San Juan Marina on Lake Powell has reopened full operations with permission from the National Park Service, a spokesman said Friday.
Dick Neztososie, vice president of Utah Navajo Industries Inc., which contracts with the Navajo Indian Tribe to operate the marina at Paiute Farms, said all services were immediately available to visitors as of June 1.The marina has been open on a limited basis while UNI worked out labor and environmental problems.

NPS officials in Page, Ariz., suspended the concession contract for the marina on the Utah side of Lake Powell early last November. John Lancaster, superintendent of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, said at the time of closure that UNI had failed to bring the water and sewer systems up to state and federal standards and had not resolved persistent management problems at the marina.
The marina was reopened on a limited basis about ten days after closure. It had been operating since the spring of 1987 under a 20-year concession contract the NPS awarded the tribe, which in turn contracted with UNI - a tribe-owned operation based in Blanding.
Neztososie said plans for a new water-sewer treatment plant at the marina were approved by the Utah Department of Health a week ago. Plans for a new sewage lagoon were approved conditionally Friday, "with minor items to be taken care of," he said.
The NPS also reviewed the plans and on Friday afternoon permitted the marina to begin full operations with the understanding the new facilities will be closely monitored, Neztososie said.

"The cause of the hangup is resolved," he said. "We wanted the word out that San Juan Marina has reopened officially. We're 100 percent in operation. We're back in business."

The marina, approximately 67 miles south of the San Juan River confluence with Lake Powell, offers boat fueling, houseboat and small boat rentals, dry storage and rental slips, and other facilities and services.

Several more employees will be hired, bringing the number of seasonal jobs to 24 under manager Leroy Brown, Neztososie said.
"While we feel OK about getting reopened - we're really quite excited - it's been quite frustrating to deal with the number of bureaucracies we have to," he said.

"Despite the low time of year, I estimate $50,000 to $100,000 we probably lost in opportunities," he said.
 
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A long time ago (probably on the old brown WW bulletin board!) someone posted a cool video taken aboard a boat arriving at the San Juan marina. It was very interesting to see that area of the Lake from a boater's perspective. I have no idea who the poster was, but if you're still out there we'd like to see it again!
 
A long time ago (probably on the old brown WW bulletin board!) someone posted a cool video taken aboard a boat arriving at the San Juan marina. It was very interesting to see that area of the Lake from a boater's perspective. I have no idea who the poster was, but if you're still out there we'd like to see it again!

It was "greenie" - I googled trying to find it and nothing came up, he must have removed it.
 
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To see some history of the San Juan Marina, read a book called Floating Hogans. It gives some good history on that marina.
 
Paiute Farms Rd. from Oljato is on my 4x4 to-do list. As is the Hole in the Rock Rd. from 276 to Cottonwood or at least Wilson Mesa. Has anybody driven from Oljato/Gouldings to the San Juan in the last few years?
 
I tried to find the road a few years ago after a Monument Valley tour but had no luck. I had been on the road 5 years earlier, and it was marked with a sign. I guess the sign is gone now. I would definitely like to travel that road again.
 
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