History of the central Utah project: a Federal perspective
Date
2001-06
Authors
Murray, Reed R., author
Johnston, Ronald, author
U.S. Committee on Irrigation and Drainage, publisher
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Abstract
The Central Utah Project (CUP), located in the central part of Utah is the largest water resources development program ever undertaken in the State. The project provides Utah with the opportunity to beneficially use a portion of its allotment from the Colorado River water through a transbasin diversion. Water resources development has long been a part of the area's history. Settlement of the Salt Lake Valley in 1847 by Brigham Young and the Mormon pioneers launched the first large scale irrigation in the United States. The CUP concept was first conceived in 1902, when farmers investigated the feasibility of diverting water from the Colorado River to the Bonneville Basin in central Utah. Since that time the CUP has evolved from studies of various independent projects. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation began investigations of the CUP in 1945 and published a feasibility report of their findings in February 1951. Portions of the CUP were authorized for construction in 1956 by the Colorado River Storage Project Act, and other portions were authorized in 1968 by the Colorado River Basin Project Act. In October 1992 final construction of the CUP was re-authorized through public law 102-575 of which titles II through VI comprise the Central Utah Project Completion Act. This Act was unprecedented in that it transferred the responsibility for completion of the CUP from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to three joint lead entities comprised of a state organization, a presidential commission, and a federal office.
Description
Presented at the 2001 USCID water management conference, Transbasin water transfers on June 27-30, 2001 in Denver, Colorado.