9621

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 9621
• Author: Utah Board of Water Resources.
• Title: Utah State Water Plan - Uintah Basin.
• USFW Year: 1999.
• USFW - Doc Type: Salt Lake City, UT.
• Copyright Material: NO

endangered species list by the U. S.
Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
has necessitated close coordination
with USFWS and other resource
agencies for those who wish to alter
and diversify the uses of the Green
River and its tributary waters.
Releases of high flows to simulate
spring runoff from Flaming Gorge
Dam has impacted the present
excellent trout fishery and fishing
industry below the dam. Flooding in
the Jensen area has occurred and
caused damage to farmland and road
systems. Also, some of the dikes
(ponds) at Browns Park State
Waterfowl Management Area and Ouray National
Waterfowl Refuge have been damaged.
Drains installed in the Jensen area by the
Bureau of Reclamation to take irrigation return flows
to Stewart Lake have created a selenium problem
with the wildlife. The drains have been diverted
around the lake and now discharge directly into the
Green River.
The Mosby Canal was breached in 1997 and
joined with water frorn spring runoff to forrn an
erosion gully 200 feet deep, about 400 feet across
and 2,000 feet long. Nearly 1.5 million cubic yards
of fine red soil washed into Dry Fork Creek, an
important source of irrigation and culinary water for
Ashley Valley.
Problems from the sediment closed down the
Ashley Valley Water Treatment Plant, filled canals
and plugged sprinkler systems. Future erosion and
sediment deposition in Dry Fork and Ashley creeks
still exist. The Ashley Creek Stabilization Project is
being designed to solve these problems.
Adequate environmental water considerations
are providing quantity and quality of water to
maintain crucial wildlife habitats and populations.
Providing instream flow as a beneficial use to
maintain fish and wildlife populations, riparian
vegetation, and stream channels is widely recognized
as important. Wetlands are important for
groundwater recharge and discharge, flood storage,
shoreline stabilization, sediment trapping, water
purification, pollution control, food chain support,
and fish and wildlife habitat establishrnent.

Red Fleet Reservoir

2.7 Regulation/Institutional Considerations
This section discusses the agencies responsible
for water regulation in the Uintah Basin. This
includes consideration of water rights, water quality
and environmental concerns.
The Division of Water Rights, under the
direction of the State Engineer, regulates water
allocation and distribution and oversees dam safety.
Water quality is regulated at the state level by the
Department of Environmental Quality through two
agencies, the Division of Water Quality and the
Division of Drinking Water. Other agencies and
organizations that regulate water in the basin are
water conservancy districts, special service districts,
city water departments, mutual irrigation companies
and private water companies. Standards are also set
for monitoring frequency and procedures. 6
Dam safety is a concern. Twenty-five high
hazard dams exist in the basin. The high hazard
rating does not mean a dam is unstable or in poor
repair, but means that if it were to fail there would
be loss of life or significant property damage.
Reservoirs in the Uintah Basin attract large
crowds of flat-water recreationists. Pollution of the
drinking water flowing from these reservoirs is an
increasing problem. Overcrowding and associated
safety issues, especially at Strawberry and Steinaker
reservoirs, are also concerns.
Inclusion of the Colorado pikeminnow
(formerly Colorado squawfish), humpback chub,
bony tail chub and razorback sucker on the

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