The proposed Jackson Flat Reservoir, inundating 212 acres of pastureland three miles south of Kanab's city center, would store 3,900 acre-feet of water so planters could irrigate their fields and anglers could hook bass and bluegills.

"It would be a good place for a fishery," said Bruce Bonebrake, regional habitat manager for the Division of Wildlife Resources in Cedar City. "My assumption is it could be like Sand Hollow," a much-larger reservoir in neighboring Washington County.

Jackson Flat also would provide a place for nonmotorized boating and offer shoreline trails for hiking and all-terrain-vehicle riding.

The Kane County Water Conservancy District wants to erect a 42-foot high earthen dam at a cost of $6 million to $7 million to impound water piped from Kanab Creek. The resulting lake would replace three smaller, dried-up reservoirs built in the 1930s but are out of use because their dams are unsafe.

Kanab Irrigation Co. shareholders could tap Jackson Flat's water to nurture their crops.

Mike Noel, executive director of the conservancy district, said the reservoir would allow water to be stored during the winter for use in the summer. Right now, that creek water flows year-round.

"Using water on the fields in winter is not as efficient," Noel said. "[With the reservoir] we can pipe it to the fields in the summer when needed most."

Additional homeowners in Kanab also could tap shares for irrigation, freeing up culinary water now supplied by the city. Even the city itself could buy water to care for its property.

The reservoir would not store water from the controversial pipeline proposed from Lake Powell to the mushrooming St. George area and southwestern Utah.

If all goes as planned, Noel said, construction could start in December or January and would be funded through grants, conservancy-district tax assessments and irrigation-company storage fees.

Noel said the conservancy district spent $900,000 to buy 400 acres for the reservoir from the Jackson family - hence the reservoir's name.

The 30-day comment period for the project's draft environmental assessment has been extended to Nov. 5 to allow further input from the Paiute Tribe, the Kaibab National Forest and the Arizona Game and Fish Department.

Jackson Flat would engulf 15 archaeological sites ranging from Paleo-Indian culture to pioneer settlements. A dozen of those sites, according to the draft environmental assessment, potentially could qualify for the National Register of Historic Places.

The Kaibab Band of Paiute, in a December 2006 letter, warned that the tribe would not endorse the project because it prefers to "preserve what is left of our cultural heritage by protecting archaeological sites."

Even so, the tribe cannot block the reservoir, although it has asked to be kept up to date on the project.

Noel, who does not expect any serious roadblocks to stop the reservoir, said crews will survey, document and collect artifacts from the area - in accordance with federal law. Public education and interpretive outreach programs also have been proposed.

Noel noted that a Kanab-commissioned recreation study by Utah State University several years ago highlighted the reservoir.

"They recommended trails, picnic tables and other amenities that would benefit from having a water resource in the community."

mhavnes@sltrib.com