By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
A resolution passed by the Central Utah Water Conservancy
District promises to reserve 10,000 acre feet of Utah Lake
Water Rights for Juab County.
An acre-foot of water is about 326,000 gallons, enough to
supply an average family for one year.
For comparison's sake, the Utah Lake System, a project
now in the public hearing stage, when completed, will
deliver a total of 101,900 acre feet to the Wasatch
Front.
Juab County was originally set to receive water from the
CUP project. Now however, the Utah Lake System, when
complete, will deliver water from Strawberry Reservoir once
destined for eastern Juab County to Salt Lake County for
municipal use there and for outdoor watering in south Utah
County.
"We commissioners have been working for several years to
receive water for our county," said Wm. Boyd Howarth,
commission chair. "Juab County has been a supporter of the
project since its inception."
In fact, he gave testimony before a congressional
committee to that effect.
Therefore, all commissioners agreed that the resolution
is a step in the right direction.
The reserved 10,000 acre feet of water set aside by the
resolution, was earmarked to go to the East Juab Water
Conservancy District.
The document was actually signed by Don A Christiansen,
secretary for the Central Utah Water Conservancy District,
January, 29, 2004. However, Neil Cook, commissioner, said he
had recently been told the good news when he visited the
headquarters of CUWCD in Utah County.
"I think this is a move in the right direction," said
Cook.
The resolution states that the Central Utah Water
conservancy District is charged with developing and managing
water resources and delivering dependable, high quality
water in an environmentally and economically responsive
manner.
In addition, it states that the water supply needs of the
District's constituents will ultimately exceed the water
supply available from the Central Utah Project (CUP) and
that, in order to satisfy the mission of the District, water
supplies have been and continue to be acquired to develop
and conserve water for the benefit of the District's
constituents.
It also states that the District has acquired water
rights in Utah Lake and recognizes Juab County as a member
of the District with a relationship that began over four
decades ago.
The resolution agrees that since the 1992 CUPCA
authorization, circumstances have changed which make the
delivery of CUP irrigation water to Juab County unlikely.
Since the District entered into an agreement with Juab
County on April 19, 2002, in which the District agreed among
other things to use its best efforts to be sure that new
water is delivered to Juab County, lake water would be
reserved for the county.
"Now, therefore, be it resolved as follows: That the
Board of Trustees of Central Utah Water Conservancy District
hereby reserves 10,000 acre feet of the water rights the
District presently owns or may acquire in Utah Lake for use
in projects to be developed in cooperation with the East
Juab Water conservancy District."
"It sounds good," agreed Robert Steele, commissioner.
In addition to the resolution, a draft environmental
impact statement was released March 30, by the Federal
Bureau of Reclamation, the Central Utah Water Conservancy
District and the Utah Reclamation Mitigation and
Conservation Commission which deals with the Utah Lake
Drainage Basin Water Delivery System (also known as the Utah
Lake System).
The project will complete the Bonneville Unit of the
Central Utah Project, which started in 1956 to bring
Colorado River water to the Wasatch Front.
Juab County was once meant to receive water as part of
that project. The county's voters approved participation
early on.
The project will be paid for with about $400 million in
federal funds and about $215 million from the conservancy
district, which gets most of its money from local property
taxes and some conservation funds.
The project calls for five new pipelines up to 7 feet in
diameter, including seven miles of pipe from the Spanish
Fork flow control structure to Spanish Fork; 5.7 miles from
Spanish Fork to Hobble Creek; 17.5 miles from Spanish Fork
to Santaquin; 7.7 miles from Santaquin to Mona; and 19.7
miles from Spanish Fork to the Provo Reservoir Canal.
Some of the water would flow down the Spanish Fork River,
and some would be piped to Hobble Creek, Provo River and
Mona Reservoir to benefit June sucker habitat.
Federal officials have released a study of the potential
environmental effects of the project.
A public comment period is open until June 11 and public
hearings are planned and a public hearing on the
environmental impact statement will be at 5 p.m. on April 29
at the Veterans Memorial Building, 386 North Main St. in
Spanish Fork. Another hearing will be at 5 p.m. April 28 at
the Sandy City Hall.
About 30,000 acre-feet would flow to communities in
southern Utah County for secondary irrigation systems, and
1,590 acre-feet would go for municipal use there.
Information about the Utah Lake Drainage Basin Water
Delivery System is available on the Internet at
www.cuwcd.com. The draft impact statement is available at
libraries in Provo, Orem, Spanish Fork, Springville, Payson,
Brigham Young University and Utah Valley State College. For
information contact Laurie Barnett at 801-226-7133.
Send written comments on the impact statement by June 11
to: Project Manager Mark Breitenbach, Central Utah Water
Conservancy District, 335 West University Parkway, Orem, UT
84058-7303.
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