8001

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 8001
• Author: Western Regional Instream Flow Conference.
• Title: Proceedings, Western Regional Instream Flow Conference.
• USFW Year: 1992.
• USFW - Doc Type: Oct. 2-3, 1992.
• Copyright Material: NO

Allocation of Utah Surface-Water Resources
The review of the existing allocation of the surface waters
of the state of Utah demonstrate that such waters are
primarily allocated to irrigation purposes. According to the
1980 National Water Summary for Utah published by the
U.S. Geological Survey,' Utah surface waters were allocated
as follows:
ALLOCATION OF UTAH SURFACE WATER RESOURCES
Stale of Utah, 1980
Irrigation
81%
Utah Agricultural Production
Each year, the Utah Department of Agriculture publishes
its annual report, setting forth detailed statistical analysis of
the agriculture industry. In the 1990 report summarizing
the 1989 agricultural production in Utah, the Department
reported that all agricultural commodities produced gross
cash receipts of approximately $711 million.
ipply Livestock
Livestock 1
78.1
Supply
%
Industrial
DPIY Domestic
0.1%
(Data may rat add to totals bemuse of independent rounding)
U. S. Geobgical Survey Water-Supply Paper 2300
According to the report, surface water is the primary
water source in the state. It currently provides about 81
percent of the offstream water used in Utah.
Most Utah streams do not have a sustained flow large
enough to provide a dependable water supply. Thus,
reservoirs are necessary to store runoff for low-flow
augmentation. Accordingly, major water-resource develop-
ment to stabilize the surface-water supply is a primary
objective of state government.
Since irrigation of agricultural crops and industrial
allocations consume the majority of Utah's surface waters,
the Task Force reviewed the direct economic contributions
of those allocations to the state.
1990 Utah Agricultural Statistics
Ps
Of the total production, 78.1 percent came from live-
stock and 21.9 percent from crops.' (Note: "Multipliers" are
not considered here. Members of the Task Force were in
agreement that some multipliers would apply to segments
of agricultural production.) In comparing the production
levels to the existing allocation of surface waters in the state,
it is apparent that 81 percent of the surface waters of the
state of Utah are being diverted to irrigation that produces
approximately $156 million per year in direct gross-cash
receipts.
Utah Mineral Industry
The surface-water allocation to the industrial sector
includes the mining industry in Utah. According to the
1989 Utah Minerals Yearbook, published by the U.S.
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, the total
production of non-fuel minerals in Utah for 1989 was
$1.29 billion. Industrial surface-water allocations also
include the manufacturing industry, thermoelectric power
generation, fossil-fuel mineral mining, etc. Other compo-
nents of industrial production are treated generally in the
gross state product summary below.
AGRIfULTURAL CASH RECEIPTS BY (OMMODMES
Stale of Utah, 1980
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