But between healthy reservoir levels upstream and a repair schedule that calls for the dike to be fully fixed by spring, the manager of the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District believes the loss can be absorbed without having an impact on the overall water supply or customers' pocketbooks.

"This is the lowest reservoir in our system. As long as we have good storage upstream, we're in good shape," Tage Flint said Wednesday. "Even if repairs aren't finished and we end up with restricted volume in Willard Bay, we think we can bridge the supply through the summer with a decent snow year."

The dike that separates Willard Bay from the Great Salt Lake began leaking a little over a week ago. Initial repairs were completed quickly, but Bureau of Reclamation officials estimate that they will need to lower the reservoir's water level by 10 feet to find the source of the leak and complete long-term repairs.

That adds up to about 100,000 acre-feet of water, or more than half of the 175,000 acre-feet that was in the reservoir when it began leaking.

An acre-foot is the amount it takes to cover an acre of land with one foot of water, or roughly the amount of water a family of four consumes in a year.

Flint says the upstream reservoirs in the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District's system are currently at about 50 percent of capacity, which is a healthy supply for this time of year.

If the Willard Bay repairs are completed in a timely manner - officials hope to finish the project this winter - there should be no noticeable drop-off in the district's overall water supply.

But Flint says he doesn't want to minimize the losses either. "Willard Bay is our largest reservoir," he said. "We've lost a lot of water."

Bureau of Reclamation officials announced late last week that the dike had been stabilized.

It poses no immediate threat to surrounding homes and farms.

The dike break was the first in its 40-year history.

jbaird@sltrib.com