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Water development in this basin dates back to the early Mormon pioneers and the American Indians. The Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation was established in 1861. In 1905 the U. S. Government opened the lands not allotted to the Indians for homesteading and white settlers began making their way into the basin. A short history of local communities' land and water developrnent is presented in Section 3. 2.4 Demographics and Economic Future This section discusses the basin's population, employment and economic future. Through the years the basin has been plagued by boom and bust relating to oil and oil shale. In spite of these cycles, the basin's population is expected to grow from an estimated 35,546 in 1990 to 87,020 in 2050. Vernal is the largest city with a 1998 population of 7,111. Uintah Basin employment is projected to increase from 17,823 jobs in 1995 to 28,025 in 2020. Long-term outlook for the economy of the basin is positive, and growth will be in minerals and tourism. 2.5 Water Supply and Use Section 5 discusses the historical water supplies and present uses. Most of the water used in the basin is for agricultural, municipal and industrial purposes and comes from numerous streams originating in the Uinta Mountains. This water is diverted directly from strearns or stored in numerous reservoirs. The primary hydrologic feature of the basin is the Green River which collects flow from the north and south slopes of the Uinta Mountains. Presently developed water supplies in the basin total 811,380 acre-feet. Agricultural irrigation diverts 797,610 acre-feet annually, municipal and industrial 21,430 acre-feet, and 2,500 acre-feet is diverted for secondary water use. Potential average annual diversions to the Wasatch Front are: Strawberry Collection System, 101,900 acre-feet; Strawberry Water Users, 61,500 acre-feet; and Duchesne Tunnel, 31,700 acre-feet. The total of all these diversions is greater than the developed supply because water, primarily agricultural water, is rediverted and reused as it moves through the river system. Depletions are: agricultural irrigation, 411,310 acre-feet; municipal and industrial, 6,870 acre-feet; and potential Wasatch Front exports, 195,100 acre-feet. Groundwater supplies are used for municipal, industrial and agricultural purposes. An estimated 35,000 acre-feet of groundwater recharge occurs on the south slope of the Uinta Mountains, and 91,000 acre-feet occurs on the north slope. 2.6 Management This section describes the water management functions of private and government entities. The Central Utah Water Conservancy District and the Uintah Water Conservancy District are the prirnary water wholesalers in the Uintah Basin. The basin has 47 major irrigation companies and 28 public community providers. The Uintah Basin has 82 active reservoirs and lakes used for water storage. Thirty-eight are below 1,000 acre-feet in storage. With completion of the Central Utah Project, many of the large dam and reservoir sites will be developed. Future growth rnay result in smaller dam sites being considered for construction on tributaries and the diversion of Green River water for use in the basin. Water management enables the delivery of water to people and places at the optimum time and condition. One of the present challenges facing water managers in the Uintah Basin is delivering water for irrigation during dry years or in areas where no reservoir storage is available for spring runoff impoundment for late summer delivery to water users. Following the current large water project development period, long-range planning will become more crucial. Public involvement and collaboration among competing water interests will be required. There is a growing need for education programs to prepare present and future leaders to make informed choices about how water is managed. Trade-offs between economic and environmental values can best be made by people who understand the nature of water and the role it plays in natural ecosystems and in economic growth. 2-2