Uintah Basin Planning for the Future
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UINTAH BASIN PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE November 2016 By: Utah Division of Water Resources With input from other State of Utah water agencies (See inside-back cover for participating agencies) U T A H S T A T E W A T E R P L A N This document and other state water plans are available online at: www.water.utah.gov ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Board of Water Resources acknowledges the following staff members of the Utah Division of Water Resources for their dedication and valuable contribution to this document: Eric Millis - Director Todd Adams - Deputy Director Bill Leeflang - Assistant Director Todd Stonely - Section Chief, River Basin Planning (Project Manager) Mike Suflita - Senior Engineer, River Basin Planning (Primary Author) Ken Short - Senior Engineer, River Basin Planning Russ Barrus - Engineer, River Basin Planning Eric Klotz - Section Chief, Water Conservation, Education and Use Dave Cole - Section Chief, Hydrology and Computer Applications (Retired) John Holman - Section Chief, Technical Services Adam Clark - Senior GIS Analyst, Technical Services The board also extends its gratitude to individual reviewers from other state agencies (see inside back cover) and members of the Uintah Basin Planning Advisory Group, who helped review the document for accuracy, provided insight and data, or otherwise lent their support. Many of these people provided the division with valuable written and oral comments, all of which have been carefully considered and incorporated where possible. Without all these contributions, the product before you would be incomplete. James A. Lemmon, Chair Steve Farrell, Vice Chair N. Gawain Snow Norman L. Johnson David S. Humphreys Charles Holmgren H. Blaine Ipson J. Stewart Paulick iii iv PREFACE One of the major responsibilities of the Utah Division of Water Resources is comprehensive water planning. Over the past 26 years, the division has prepared a series of documents under the title "Utah State Water Plan." This includes two statewide water plans, an individual water plan for each of the state’s eleven major hydrologic river basins, and five special studies on the important topics of water reuse, conjunctive management, drought, reservoir sedimentation, and leak detection. The preparation of these plans involved several major data collection programs as well as extensive inter-agency and public outreach efforts. Much was learned through this process; state, local, and federal water planners and managers obtained valuable information for use in their programs and activities, and the public received the opportunity to provide meaningful input in improving the state’s water resources stewardship. This document is the latest in the "Utah State Water Plan" series and is intended to guide and inform water- related planning and management in the Uintah Basin over the coming years. It summarizes key data obtained through the previous water planning documents, introduces new data where available, and addresses issues of importance to all future water planning efforts. Where possible, it identifies water use trends and makes projections of water use. The document also explores various means of meeting future water needs. Water managers and planners within the basin will find the data, insights and direction provided by this document valuable in their efforts. The general public will discover many useful facts and information helpful in understanding the basin’s water resources. Both audiences should appreciate the real-life examples highlighted in the text and photographs. Although the use of technical words is avoided wherever possible, an extensive glossary illuminates exact usage of terminology that may be unfamiliar. In addition to the printed form of this document, the Utah Division of Water Resources has made a digital “pdf” version available on the Internet. This can be accessed through the division’s home page at: www.water.utah.gov. This web page allows this document and other water planning documents to be viewed by the largest audience possible, thus facilitating better planning and management at the state and local level. Editorial Note: The Utah Division of Water Resources recognizes that new statewide population projections are due to be published in mid-2017. These new projections will cause the future water demands to be different than the estimates contained in this report. The division will prepare updated water demands for the entire state once the new projections are available and encourages the reader to consult with the division to understand what if any impact these changes will have on the conclusions of this report. Additionally, the division is updating its data analysis processes and obtaining third-party verification of the 2015 water use numbers. This report utilizes 2010 water use numbers. v vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................................... iii PREFACE ............................................................................................................................................................ v LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................................................ xi LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................................................ xii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................. xiii Chapter Page 1 INTRODUCTION: WATERS OF THE UINTAH BASIN .......................................................................... 1 Future Vision .......................................................................................................................................... 1 Purpose of this Plan ................................................................................................................................ 2 Description of Basin ............................................................................................................................... 2 Drainage Area and Topography ....................................................................................................... 2 Land Ownership ...................................................................................................................................... 4 Significance of Water Resources to the Basin ........................................................................................ 4 Brief History of Water Use and Development ........................................................................................ 4 Native Inhabitants and Early Visitors (Before 1861) ....................................................................... 6 Tribal Lands and Anglo-American Settlement (1861-1904) ............................................................ 6 Opening of the Reservations to Settlement and Early Water Developments (1905-1930) .............. 9 Large Scale Water Developments and Exportation (1931-Present) ............................................... 10 State Water Planning............................................................................................................................. 12 1999 Uintah Basin Plan .................................................................................................................. 12 The 2001 Utah State Water Plan and Subsequent Special Studies ................................................. 12 The Current Plan ............................................................................................................................ 13 2 WATER SUPPLY ....................................................................................................................................... 15 Climatological Influences ..................................................................................................................... 15 Available Water Supply ........................................................................................................................ 15 Surface Water ................................................................................................................................. 15 Groundwater ................................................................................................................................... 21 Trans-basin Diversions ................................................................................................................... 22 Central Utah Project ....................................................................................................................... 22 Total Available Supply ................................................................................................................... 24 Variability of Supply............................................................................................................................. 24 Drought ........................................................................................................................................... 25 Climate Change .............................................................................................................................. 27 Developed Supply ................................................................................................................................. 27 Water Rights ........................................................................................................................................