The Central Utah Project Completion Act provides diverse benefits for Utahns. The Act emphasizes public involvement and addresses the protection and enhancement of the environment. For the first time in history, a local entity, the Central Utah Water Conservancy District, rather than the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, is the overseer of a major water project. Further, the Act calls for significant water-conservation programs and a specific water-management plan. It creates new recreation sites, preserves wetlands and improves conditions for fish, game and wildlife. In addition, the Act:
Authorizes up to $50 million in federal funds for water-conservation measures on 65 percent federal cost/35 percent local cost-share ratio.
Establishes a goal to conserve a minimum of 30,000 acre feet of water per year by 2010 by improving the efficiency of storage, distribution, conveyance, or water uses.
Establishes the Water Conservation Credit Program to identify, evaluate and implement water-conservation activities within the 12-county CUP service area. Savings will be credited toward meeting the District's water-conservation goal.
Establishes a 20-member Water Management Improvement Studies Coordination Committee to identify and assess water-conservation issues and to compile an inventory of potential water-conservation projects.
Authorizes up to $150 million in federal funds for construction of a Main Conveyance Aqueduct to deliver water in south Utah County and Juab County.
The CUP Completion Act Benefits You
The Central Utah Project Completion Act (CUPCA) provides for the orderly completion of the Central Utah Project (CUP) by authorizing an increase in the appropriations ceiling for the CUP. Also, it authorizes certain water-conservation and wildlife-mitigation projects and provides for the construction of certain project features for delivery of municipal and irrigation water to specified areas within the CUP service area.
The CUPCA provides numerous benefits for Utah and future generations. Among them:
Emphasizes public involvement
Calls for the preservation of wetlands.
Addresses protection and enhancement of the environment.
Minimizes and controls costs.
Creates new recreation sites, improves existing ones.
Names the Central Utah Water Conservancy District to replace the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to plan, construct and operate the CUP.
Calls for significant Water Conservation Credit Program and a specific water-management plan.
Guarantees instream flow levels to protect present and future fisheries and associated riparian vegetation.
Stabilizes the agricultural economy in Utah and Juab counties.
The Central Utah Water Conservancy District was designated a federal agency for compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and other federal water and environment laws.
Water For Growth
The CUP provides Utah with the opportunity to beneficially use a sizable portion of its allotted share of the Colorado River water. It is generally agreed that major growth is anticipated along the Wasatch Front and throughout the populated areas of the state. Studies indicate that the population of Salt Lake, Davis and Utah counties will increase from 1.3 million in 1990 to almost 2.5 million by 2025. In Salt Lake County alone, the population is expected to increase by 189 percent. Much of this growth will depend primarily on the available
water supply. The CUPCA, through its water-management studies and conservation programs, will help identify and put in place conservation programs that should provide a marked water savings. Economists agree that people are drawn to Utah by its job market and its quality of life. New residents, in turn, create new jobs and demand for housing and, consequently, a higher demand for water.
CUP water will be provided to meet the municipal and industrial requirements of the
larger populated concentrations along the Wasatch Front.