The Last Chance Lakes water-skiing ranch and residential development near Vernon, began filling its man-made lakes up with groundwater Monday, putting it one step closer to operation.

A special “valve opening party” took place at the site of Last Chance Lakes on Monday night. Rick Lybbert, developer and owner of Last Chance Lakes, said the actual opening of the water valve took place at 7 p.m., with the water being supplied by an 8-inch diameter line.

Lybbert had to purchase a water right to supply water to fill the lakes. Another water right, which will provide water to the homes, came with the purchase of the land.

He said the party was intended to celebrate the recent completion of construction for the lakes, as well as the nearing completion of the entire Last Chance Lakes resort.

“There were several months of work that went into this project so far,” he said. “We received all the approvals we needed, and Salt Lake General Contracting, which is also a partner in the project, had done the construction for the lakes. The pits of the lakes were all finished, so what we had to do was fill them up with groundwater. With the two lakes being connected, we could start to fill them up at the same time, but it will take approximately four months to fill up both of them completely.”

Last Chance Lakes, which was formerly known as the Last Chance Ski Ranch, was originally scheduled to break ground in July, but Lybbert said issues with obtaining permits and approvals took longer than expected. Last Chance Lakes was approved for construction by the Tooele County Planning Commission in November.

“The bulk of the entire Last Chance Lakes project was the lakes themselves, and there were 350,000 yards of dirt moved to create the lakes,” Lybbert said. “One of the lakes is 2,300 feet long and 275 feet wide, while the other one is 2,200 feet long and 200 feet wide. Each lake is between 6 and 8 feet deep, and we have gravel on the shoreline and sand around the docks to replicate a real beach.”

Last Chance Lakes is located a mile and a half north of Vernon on the Pony Express Road, and is situated on 80 acres of land. There will be a total of 19 home lots for sale, each of which will be just over one-half acre. It will be a private ranch used by residents. The lakes will also be used by disabled people who want to learn how to water-ski.

Lybbert said the 19 home lots, each of which will have a private dock, have been selling quite well, and that the foundations for the docks have already been installed. Sixteen of the lots will be surrounding the two man-made lakes.

“Eight of the 19 home lots have already sold, and most of them have been bought by people along the Wasatch Front who are looking for recreational properties,” he said. “The lots range in price from $200,000 to $400,000 depending on the size of the lot.”

Lybbert, who has been a physical therapist for the past 10 years, is already planning to form a water-skiing camp for disabled people once the ranch gets up and running. Four three-day camps will take place throughout the year.

“One of the 20 docks that the ranch will have is going to be set aside for our disabled water-skier program,” Lybbert said. “It will be an ideal site for people with disabilities who want to learn how to water-ski. The ranch will be open one day a week for the program.”

He expects the ranch to be completed sometime early next year.

“We still need to build the lodge, tennis courts, and pavillion, and there is still some landscaping to be done,” Lybbert said. “We also have to comply with the road and utilities departments. We expect everything to be done by spring of 2009.”

Doug Radunich: dougrad@tooeletranscript.com