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UTAH
<br />Today, the Central Utah Project is a network of seven major dams
<br />and reservoirs and more than 222 miles of conduit, aqueducts, pipelines
<br />and canals. It includes the Jordanelle Dam, which began filling in 1994.
<br />With a storage capacity of 320,000 acre-feet, it is located six miles north
<br />of Heber City in Wasatch County and is considered one of the crown
<br />jewels of the CUP.
<br />While completion of the Jordanelle Dam marked a major
<br />milestone in Utah's water plan and the Central Utah Project, it also hailed
<br />the beginning of a new era in Utah water management.
<br />In 1994, Congress passed the CUP Completion Act, which in
<br />addition to providing a funding mechanism for completion of CUP priority
<br />projects, authorized a nonfederal entity for the first time to manage the
<br />construction of federally funded projects such as dams, dikes and water-
<br />transportation pipelines. After working with the U.S. Bureau of
<br />Reclamation on the CUP, the sponsoring Central Utah Water
<br />Conservancy District was empowered by Congress to administrate all
<br />future CUP construction.
<br />The decision to give stewardship of the CUP to the Central Utah
<br />Water Conservancy District was made to cut costs, allowing Utah to
<br />contract for construction at the local level with federal guidance over the
<br />operation. The CUP Completion Act calls for the federal government to
<br />provide 65 percent of the funding for all CUP projects, with the state of
<br />Utah paying the remaining 35 percent in a unique cost-share compact.
<br />But Utah had to prove its worthiness and demonstrate a capacity
<br />to comply with all federal guidelines under the National Environmental
<br />Policy Act of 1970 before earning the right to captain its own CUP ship.
<br />Utah's attention to environmental sensitivities and the protection
<br />of fish and wildlife while developing the Central Utah Project is an
<br />important segment of the state's evolving water plan. For instance, when
<br />developing Jordanelle Dam on the Provo River system, CUP officials
<br />signed a compact to ensure sufficient stream flow below Jordanelle to
<br />
<br />sustain fish populations such as German brown and rainbow trout.
<br />Mitigation efforts also replaced all wetlands disturbed during construction
<br />of the dam while establishing a vast, new network of recreational facilities
<br />around Jordanelle Reservoir.
<br />The CUP Completion Act is based on the principle of public
<br />participation - in planning and in fact. One way tens of thousands of
<br />Utahns participate in CUP-related activities is through the unparalleled
<br />recreational opportunities the act has generated.
<br />More than $120 million authorized by Congress is being
<br />used to enhance recreational opportunities in the CUP service area
<br />by providing and enhancing facilities to accommodate fishing, boating,
<br />water skiing, camping and hiking. The authorization is accelerating
<br />the acquisition of additional access for hunters and fishers, improving
<br />fish habitat, improving big game habitat, developing wetlands, providing
<br />for minimal stream flows, assuring the survival of native cutthroat trout
<br />and improving riparian habitat.
<br />Jordanelle Reservoir houses the newest of the 46 Utah state parks
<br />and is becoming one of the most popular because the facility, which was
<br />built under the auspices of the Bureau of Reclamation, offers enjoyment to
<br />eager visitors representing a variety of outdoor interests and seasons.
<br />In other CUP covered areas, improvements are being realized for
<br />Utah Lake, recreation development along the Provo River between
<br />Jordanelle Dam and Deer Creek Reservoir, along the Provo River upstream
<br />of Utah Lake, along
<br />the Jordan River
<br />1-0. -016.wq
<br />between Utah Lake
<br />and the Great Salt
<br />Awl
<br />Lake and general
<br />funding for
<br />improvements
<br />where needed at
<br />CUP reservoirs.
<br />The CUP
<br />Completion Act was
<br />a major milestone in
<br />Utah's water-
<br />CATARACT CANYON CHALLENGES A RIVER SURVEY development history.
<br />PARTY AS IT WORKS TO FREE A BOAT IN THE It emphasizes public
<br />EARLY 1900S. involvement and
<br />addresses the
<br />protection and enhancement of the environment while establishing one of
<br />the most ambitious water-conservation programs in U.S. history.
<br />The act authorizes up to $50 million in federal funds for water-
<br />conservation measures and establishes a program to conserve a minimum
<br />of 30,000 acre-feet of water per year by 2010, primarily by improving the
<br />efficiency of storage, distribution conveyance and water uses.
<br />The development of new water storage and transportation projects
<br />in Utah does not only mean dependable water supplies for farmlands,
<br />cities, towns and industries in central Utah. It means improved fisheries,
<br />flood and erosion control, expansion of improved wildlife habitat, and
<br />exceptional new boating and recreational opportunities as well.
<br />"And it is all being done while maintaining a responsible
<br />environmental balance," assures Utah Governor Michael Leavitt. "For
<br />every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction - an impact. But
<br />one of the most important aspects of developing water projects in Utah
<br />has been our ability to do so with minimal impact on the environment.
<br />In fact, the state has gone out of its way to mitigate all environmental
<br />impacts by building wildlife refuges and recreational facilities into
<br />projects that enhance the environment.
<br />"For every tree that is removed, we are planting three in its
<br />place. For every dam that is built, we are making sure there is ample
<br />water downstream to sustain our healthy fish populations. Our objective
<br />has not been to simply build a dam, it has been to build a dam with
<br />complete responsibility for the environment. It is a matter of priorities,"
<br />emphasized Leavitt.
<br />Leavitt and Utah water officials know the importance of having
<br />water-collection and storage systems available to manage spring runoff
<br />water from Utah's mountains to provide a reliable source of municipal,
<br />industrial and agricultural water year-round in the country's second-most
<br />arid state.
<br />Otherwise, the water picture in Utah might be what was
<br />emblazoned in the mirror of the minds of the state's early pioneers when
<br />they emerged from the eastern Wasatch Mountains to glimpse the Great
<br />Salt Lake. Water, water everywhere, but nary a drop to drink.
<br />Imagine the paradox.
<br />Compiled and written by C. Elden Laird, public affairs director, Central Utah Water
<br />Conservancy District, Orem, Utah.
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<br />WORK CREWS PAUSE IN THEIR TASK OF BUILDING UTAH'S STRAWBERRY DAM LONG
<br />ENOUGH TO HAVE THEIR PICTURE TAKEN.
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