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<br />,~,_.'i " .. . <br /> <br />SYNOPSIS <br /> <br />This report is made in accordance with the Federal reclamation laws <br />(Act of June 17, 1902, 32 Stat. 388, and acts amendatory thereof'or <br />supplementary thereto, particularly the Boulder Canyon Project Act, <br />45 stat. 1057, and the Boulder Canyon Project Adjustment Act, 54 stat. <br />744) . <br /> <br />The Area and Its Needs <br /> <br />The project area includes land on both sides of the Great Basin <br />Divide, the high mountain series consisting of the Wasatch Mountains <br />and continuing ranges, that extends north and south across the center <br />of the State. To the east of the divide, within the Colorado River <br />Basin, are the Uinta Basin lands that would be served by the project . <br />This area includes the communities of Vernal, Roosevelt, and Duchesne. <br />To the west of the divide is the Bonneville Basin. The project would <br />serve an area along the eastern border of this basin. This area, the <br />most highly developed region in Utah, includes the communities of Salt <br />Lake City, Provo, Heber, Spanish Fork, Payson, Nephi, Richfield, Delta, <br />and Fillmore. <br /> <br />The need for water and electric energy in the Bonneville Basin is <br />intensified by expanding industrial activities. The new Geneva Steel <br />Plant near Provo, the largest fully integrated steel plant west of the <br />Mississippi, and the Kennecott Copper Company's electrolytic refinery, <br />recently constructed near Salt Lake City, are important industrial addi- <br />tions. Finished steel and copper are attracting satellite industries. <br />Largely as a result of the industrial expansion, the population of the <br />Bonneville Basin portion of the project area increased 29 percent from <br />1940 to 1950. The area's demand for food and for municipal, industrial, <br />and miscellaneous water supplies has increased accordingly. The basin <br />contains vast areas of rich alluvial soil, but irrigation is generally <br />required to mature crops. The flow of small local streams, practically <br />the only source of water, falls far short of irrigation re~irements. <br />Importation of a substantial amount of water into the basin is essen- <br />tial to the basin r s agricultural and industrial expansion but can be <br />accomplished only through developnent of the Central utah project. <br />Without the importation contemplated under the project, future munici- <br />pal and industrial expansion in Salt Lake City and areas to the s.outh <br />will require a reduction in the use of water for irrigation. Also, <br />without the importation of water and without an increased supply of <br />electric energy, further development of the Bonneville Basin's rich <br />resources of land, minerals, and chemicals will be slowed. <br /> <br />.;-; <br /> <br />:::-~ <br /> <br />f': <br /> <br />In contrast to the Bonneville Basin, the Uinta Basin has abundant <br />water resources as compared with the land resources. Streams flowing <br />south from the Uinta Mounta1ns--the Duchesne River and its major tribu- <br />taries, together with Ashley Creek and Brush Creek--produce more than <br /> <br />2 <br />