Central Utah Project
The Central Utah Project develops water for irrigation, municipal, and industrial use; stream flows; and power generation.
The slow progress prompted state and local officials to ask Congress to empower the Central Utah Water Conservancy District to complete the planning and construction of the remaining portion of the CUP, specifically the Bonneville Unit.
[3] Congress responded to local concerns by enacting the Central Utah Project Completion Act on October 30, 1992.
In exchange, the Bureau of Reclamation agreed to plan and construct the Uintah, Upalco, and Ute Indian Units of the CUP to provide storage of the Tribe's water.
The system provides water for irrigation and municipal and industrial use, flood control, recreation, and fish and wildlife benefits in the Duchesne County area of the Uinta Basin.
Duchesne River water is diverted by Knight Diversion Dam and conveyed to the reservoir through the Starvation Feeder Conduit.
The Strawberry Aqueduct and Collection System provides 44,400 acre-feet (54,800,000 m3) of instream flows for fishery mitigation purposes annually.
In addition to water supply, the Strawberry Aqueduct and Collection System provides flood control, recreation, and fish and wildlife benefits.
The municipal and industrial water for northern Utah County (20,000 acre-feet (25,000,000 m3) per year) and Salt Lake County (70,000 acre-feet (86,000,000 m3) per year) is released from Jordanelle Reservoir or diverted under direct flow water rights and then rediverted from the Provo River into the Olmsted Flowline.
In 1999, the Central Utah Project Completion Act Office initiated a request for proposals for a Lease of Power Privilege on Jordanelle Dam.
Bottle Hollow Reservoir was constructed to compensate the tribe for economic losses associated with stream fishing on the portion of Rock Creek located on the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation.
[6] Initial planning for the Jensen Unit in the 1970s anticipated full-scale oil shale production was imminent, requiring large amounts of municipal and industrial water.
The development of 12,000 acre-feet (15,000,000 m3) of municipal and industrial water required the construction of the Burns Bench Pumping Plant.
As a result, the Burns Bench Pumping Plant was not constructed, reducing the Jensen Unit municipal and industrial water supply to 6,000 acre-feet (7,400,000 m3).
In the 1990s, Reclamation discovered that irrigation drains constructed as part of the project were delivering unacceptable levels of selenium to Stewart Lake.
Accordingly, water user interest in contracting for the remaining unmarketed municipal and industrial supply and the constructing the Burns Bench Pumping Plant has renewed.
The Jensen Unit, as constructed, consists of the Red Fleet Dam and Reservoir, the Tyzack Pumping Plant and Aqueduct, and the irrigation drains.
About 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Vernal, Utah, the dam is zoned earthfill with a structural height of 144 feet (44 m) above the bed of Big Brush Creek.
The Central Utah Water Conservancy District completed the construction of the primary features of the Uintah Basin Replacement Project in 2006.
Also, Public Law 107-366, enacted December 19, 2002, deauthorized the Uintah and Upalco Units, transferring the authorization to the Bonneville Unit for construction of the Uintah Basin Replacement Project, Utah Lake System, and other Central Utah Project Completion Act purposes.
The Ute Indian Unit included a pipeline from Flaming Gorge Dam and Reservoir to the Uinta Basin.
It is the side that experiences the most intensive use, including walk-in and RV camping, motorized boating, personal watercraft launch area, three group use pavilions, 41 family picnic sites, and a marina store and restaurant.
Recreation and public use at Jordanelle Reservoir is managed by the Utah Division of State Parks under an agreement with Reclamation.
The Rock Cliff Nature Center received a Conservation Assessment Program (CAP) grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Heritage Preservation.
There are four main developed areas: Strawberry Bay, Soldier Creek, Renegade Point, and Aspen Grove.
Renegade Point has 66 campsites and a trail from the campground leads to the eastern arm of the reservoir or south along Poison Ridge to Big Springs.
The park and the reservoir offer numerous coves, remote beaches and unusually-blue water, which is actually the reflection of the sky.
Recreation management at Red Fleet Reservoir is performed by the Utah Division of State Parks, under an agreement with Reclamation.
Facilities include a small sandy beach, boat launching ramp, two modern rest rooms, 29 campsites, 32 covered picnic tables, and fish cleaning and sewage disposal stations.
Facilities include a boat launching ramp, modern restrooms, sewage disposal station, 31 individual campsites, and two group-use pavilions.
