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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Expanding Instream Flows To Protect Ecosystems In Overallocated River Basins, Belize Lane, David E. Rosenberg Jul 2019

Expanding Instream Flows To Protect Ecosystems In Overallocated River Basins, Belize Lane, David E. Rosenberg

All In-stream Flows Material

Utahns are expressing a rapidly growing interest in protecting and enhancing instream flows for outdoor recreation and environmental benefits (Endter-Wada et al. 2015). However, many Utah rivers are already over-allocated for agricultural, municipal, hydropower and other water uses, making it difficult to procure additional water for instream flows. ‘Use it or lose it’ western water law and mentality encourages Utahns to use water rather than return it to rivers and ecosystems.


Utah Code 73-3-30, Utah State Legislature Dec 2018

Utah Code 73-3-30, Utah State Legislature

All In-stream Flows Material

73-3-30 Change application for an instream flow.


Environmental Water Transactions In The Colorado River Basin: A Closer Look, Leon Szeptycki, David Pilz, Rachel O'Connor, Beatrice Gordon Nov 2018

Environmental Water Transactions In The Colorado River Basin: A Closer Look, Leon Szeptycki, David Pilz, Rachel O'Connor, Beatrice Gordon

All In-stream Flows Material

Over the last 30 years, the voluntary transfer of water and water rights for environmental uses has become a recognized strategy for restoring streamflow in the Western United States.1 Historically, taking water out of a stream was a legally required element of an appropriative water right. Water rights holders who left all or a portion of their right instream to enhance fish populations, riparian habitat or recreation, risked forfeiture or diminishment of their water right. Beginning in the 1980’s, state laws began to recognize both the appropriation of new water rights for instream use and to allow the transfer …


Accelerating The Implementation Of Secondary Water Metering In Utah, Western Resource Advocates Feb 2018

Accelerating The Implementation Of Secondary Water Metering In Utah, Western Resource Advocates

All In-stream Flows Material

Utah is one of the fastest-growing states in the US, i and among the most arid. Water conservation has been identified by the state and many local communities as a key strategy for managing water supplies under these conditions. ii


2016 Utah Angler Periodic Survey: Project Summary Report, R. J. Lilieholm, J. M. Keating, R. S. Krannich Nov 2017

2016 Utah Angler Periodic Survey: Project Summary Report, R. J. Lilieholm, J. M. Keating, R. S. Krannich

All In-stream Flows Material

This report presents results derived from an online random sample survey of Utah residents and non-residents who were licensed to fish in the State of Utah over the 2016 calendar year. The survey was designed to provide estimates of angling activity and fish caught/kept information across the State as a whole, and at specific key locations. Additional questions asked anglers about trip satisfaction, crowding, fishing methods, and boat access. Key methods and findings from this study include the following:


Implementing Inexpensive Alternatives To The West’S Largest New Water Project, Utah Rivers Council Aug 2017

Implementing Inexpensive Alternatives To The West’S Largest New Water Project, Utah Rivers Council

All In-stream Flows Material

In 2006, the Utah Rivers Council published our first paper on Bear River Development after completing a comprehensive analysis about the many inexpensive options to provide water for the future of the Wasatch Front. This 2nd edition summarizes new research conducted by Utah Rivers Council staff, colleagues and that of other agencies, which demonstrates that Bear River Development is completely unnecessary for Utah’s future water needs. Although this is good news to Utah taxpayers, it is bad news for the many special interests that seek to profit from billions of dollars in spending for Bear River Water Development and …


Policy Issue Research Committee Report, Utah Farm Bureau Federation, Sterling Brown Jun 2017

Policy Issue Research Committee Report, Utah Farm Bureau Federation, Sterling Brown

All In-stream Flows Material

Under the direction of the Utah Farm Bureau Board of Directors, a Policy Issue Research Committee (PIRC) was appointed to help achieve one of its five Strategic Goals – develop and implement grassroots policy through advocacy and education by focusing on 3-5 priority policy issues. PIRCs help accomplish this goal by providing a forum for in-depth analysis on pertinent issues facing Utah Farm Bureau


Colorado River Basin Environmental Water Transfers Scorecard, Leon Szeptycki, David Pilz Mar 2017

Colorado River Basin Environmental Water Transfers Scorecard, Leon Szeptycki, David Pilz

All In-stream Flows Material

The Colorado River and its tributaries support more than 35 million people and irrigate more than four million acres of farmland. At the same time, the river supports 30 fish species found nowhere else on earth and inspires millions of visitors and residents alike with its sheer beauty. However, growing water scarcity caused by increased water use, hydrologic variability and climate change loom over all the Colorado River provides.


Logan River Restoration Draft Conservation Action Plan, Logan River Task Force Feb 2016

Logan River Restoration Draft Conservation Action Plan, Logan River Task Force

All In-stream Flows Material

The Logan River, an integral part of the greater Bear River ecosystem, originates within the Bear River Mountains in the headwaters of Logan Canyon and terminates at its confluence with the Little Bear River in Cutler Reservoir. The river is an asset to residents of Logan City and Cache County and has historically supported many beneficial uses. The Logan River was an important resource for Native Americans and pioneers, and it remains valuable today. Cache Valley citizens are attracted to the river and enjoy the aesthetics, recreational values, and wildlife resources associated with this high-quality river, which supports fish, wildlife, …


Little Bear And Blacksmith Fork Rivers Environmental Flows, Bio-West, Inc. Oct 2015

Little Bear And Blacksmith Fork Rivers Environmental Flows, Bio-West, Inc.

All In-stream Flows Material

This report describes existing information and first steps related to developing environmental flow recommendations for the Little Bear and Blacksmith Fork Rivers in Cache County, Utah. This project was undertaken by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in partnership with Trout Unlimited (TU), Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR), Cache County, and Utah State University (USU). Both rivers have been identified as conservation priorities, primarily for Bonneville cutthroat trout (BCT) and their riparian and aquatic systems.


Environmental Water Rights Transfers: A Review Of State Laws, Leon F. Szeptycki, Julia Forgie, Elizabeth Hook, Kori Lorick, Philip Womble Aug 2015

Environmental Water Rights Transfers: A Review Of State Laws, Leon F. Szeptycki, Julia Forgie, Elizabeth Hook, Kori Lorick, Philip Womble

All In-stream Flows Material

This report was prepared in cooperation with, and was funded by, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), with the goal of providing an assessment of the legal regimes for reviewing and approving environmental water transfers in twelve western states. The ability to transfer, change, or dedicate an existing water right under the prior appropriation system to instream uses is a relatively new legal tool. Legislatures in western states first passed statutes authorizing and governing these transfers in the late 1980s. As part of its overall western water program, NFWF engaged with Water in the West to assess the scope, …


Report To The Utah Legislature Number 2015-01: A Performance Audit Of Projections Of Utah's Water Needs, John M. Schaff May 2015

Report To The Utah Legislature Number 2015-01: A Performance Audit Of Projections Of Utah's Water Needs, John M. Schaff

All In-stream Flows Material

The Division of Water Resources’ projections indicate that Utah’s statewide demand for water will outstrip the currently developed supply in about 25 years. Some believe the state can address its growing demand for water through conservation and by developing local supplies, including the conversion of agriculture water to municipal use. Others believe the state’s growing demand for water will require the development of major new sources of supply that will cost billions of dollars. Considering the importance of water to the health, social and the economic well-being of our state’s residents, it is essential that the division provide the best …


Weber River Watershed Plan, The Weber River Partnership Jan 2014

Weber River Watershed Plan, The Weber River Partnership

All In-stream Flows Material

Our watershed is defined by the people that live, work, and play within its boundaries, as well as the social, ecological, financial and societal benefits that it provides. The Weber River Watershed has experienced a long history of human-influenced changes and alterations in order to enhance human well-being. Many of these actions have enhanced water transportation and delivery, developed sources of hydropower, reduced flood hazards, and provided agricultural, municipal and industrial water supplies (National Research Council 1992), all of which are essential to our survival and quality of life. At the same time, some of those enhancements have had unforeseen …


Hot Water, Dry Streams: A Tale Of Two Trout, Jack R. Tuholske Jan 2010

Hot Water, Dry Streams: A Tale Of Two Trout, Jack R. Tuholske

All In-stream Flows Material

Norman Maclean’s timeless memoir A River Runs Through It begins with the reflection that in his household “there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing.”1 That zeal remains today; nearly 30 million Americans call themselves fishermen.2 Anglers devoted an aggregate of 517 million user-days pursuing their passion in 2006 and spent billions of dollars to support it.3 Fishing in the western United States holds a special place in fishing lore the world over and for good reason. From the great trout waters of Montana, to the salmon-laden rivers of the west coast, to the sparkling …


A Comparative Guide To The Western States' Public Trust Doctrines: Public Values, Private Rights, And The Evolution Toward An Ecological Public Trust, Robin Kundis Craig Jan 2010

A Comparative Guide To The Western States' Public Trust Doctrines: Public Values, Private Rights, And The Evolution Toward An Ecological Public Trust, Robin Kundis Craig

All In-stream Flows Material

In the arid West, balancing private needs for fresh water to consume against the public values-recreational, aesthetic, and ecological-served by leaving fresh water in situ has tended to favor the private use side. Evidence of this result is both massive and minor, ranging from California's multi-billion-dollar water transportation system,1 to the routine de-watering of the Colorado River so that little to no water reaches the Sea of Cortez,2 to water-related Endangered Species Act lawsuits in dozens of watersheds. 3


Weber River Basin Planning For The Future, Utah Division Of Water Resources Sep 2009

Weber River Basin Planning For The Future, Utah Division Of Water Resources

All In-stream Flows Material

The water resources of the Weber River Basin play an integral role in the life of every basin resident. From a morning shower to a weekend trip on Pineview Reservoir, water is interwoven into nearly every activity. Use of the basin’s water resources has allowed the land to be settled, has provided the basin’s citizens with numerous employment and recreational opportunities, and has made possible a high quality of life. The far-reaching vision of the basin’s leaders, coupled with modern engineering technology, has allowed the basin’s water supply to be harnessed and used on a large scale. Water has been …


Lower Hobble Creek Ecosystem Flow Recommendations, Melissa Stamp, Thomas Eddie, Darren Olsen, Tyler Allred Apr 2009

Lower Hobble Creek Ecosystem Flow Recommendations, Melissa Stamp, Thomas Eddie, Darren Olsen, Tyler Allred

All In-stream Flows Material

This report describes the process and products of developing a suite of year-round instream flow recommendations for lower Hobble Creek in Utah County, Utah. This project was undertaken by the Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission (the Commission) as a component of the June Sucker Recovery Implementation Program (JSRIP) 2008 Work Plan (JSRIP 2008). The Commission is a Federal agency established by the Central Utah Project Completion Act (CUPCA [Titles II through VI of Public Law 102-575]). The Commission is responsible for mitigating impacts of the Bonneville Unit of the Central Utah Project (CUP) on fish, wildlife, and related recreation …