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Show CHAPTER 3 Watershed Jurisdiction and Ownership WATERSHED JURISDICTION AND OWNERSHIP Many entities share ownership and jurisdiction of the lands that make up the Salt Lake City Watershed of the Wasatch Mountains. This chapter will summarize property ownership in the Wasatch Canyons and the responsibilities of major jurisdictions involved in managing the watershed. A. SALT LAKE CITY WATERSHED AUTHORITY Salt Lake City's authority for watershed protection is granted by the Utah Constitution, Utah Statutes, and United States Statutes. The U. S. Congress and the State of Utah have addressed Salt Lake City water supply protection by recognizing the prominence of Salt Lake City watersheds and by granting Salt Lake City broad authority to protect its water supply. The preparation of this document, the ' 99 Watershed Plan, is another step in carrying out this longstanding mandate from federal and state authorities. 1. Utah Constitution Utah Constitution ( Article XI, Section 5), authorizes the state legislature, by general laws, to classify cities in proportion to population. This constitutional provision has been implemented by state legislation to grant authority over watersheds based on this classification system. The Utah Constitution also specifically addresses the authority of municipalities to own and develop water rights. Municipal corporations are forbidden from directly selling, leasing, alienating or disposing of any waterworks, water rights or sources of water supply. Cities are further directed to preserve, maintain, and operate their water rights, waterworks, and water sources in order to supply water to their inhabitants at reasonable rates. Municipal water rights, however, may be exchanged for other water rights ( Utah Constitution, Article XI, Section 6). The prohibition against alienating city water rights ( except by exchange) prevents Salt Lake City from selling or leasing its water rights to public and private water users in the Wasatch Canyons. However, since Salt Lake City boundaries do not include most of the canyon areas, serving water to canyon users is accomplished through sale of " surplus" city waters by a revocable contract. Page 29 |