Accomplishing the impossible: overcoming obstacles of a combined irrigation project
Date
2004-10
Authors
Ploeger, Lauren C., author
Andrew, Brian J., author
U.S. Committee on Irrigation and Drainage, publisher
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Abstract
During the past five years of record-breaking drought, the impossible was done when the unlikeliest group collaborated in western Uintah County, Utah. Individuals from the Uintah Water Conservancy District, the Ouray Park Irrigation Company, the Uintah River Irrigation Company, and the Ute and Ouray Indian Tribes, represented by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, agreed to implement an irrigation project that would combine seven irrigation canals into a single pressurized delivery system. These individual groups had many obstacles and historical mistrust to overcome before construction even could begin on the West Side Combined Canal Salinity Project (WSCCSP). The first obstacle was to acquire sufficient funding to design and construct the five divisions of the WSCCSP. Another obstacle faced was coordinating and improving the ecological and environmental issues by increasing instream flows and tightening salinity control in order to be eligible to receive the needed Federal funding for the project. There was also the sensitive subject, especially in times of drought, of juggling the water rights of the project participants. The project areas' water rights include Native American water rights and non-Tribal water rights. Some participants have storage rights while others have only direct flow rights. Probably the most difficult obstacle was socio-economic. The historical mistrust between the entities needed to be resolved and the project participants have cooperated to share resources rather than compete for a less than adequate water supply. These obstacles, having been overcome, have resulted in very apparent project benefits. With three of the five project divisions complete, water has been conserved, water deliveries have been maximized, crops yields have increased, and the usable water supply has been increased through better efficiency and management.
Description
Presented during the USCID water management conference held on October 13-16, 2004 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The theme of the conference was "Water rights and related water supply issues."