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Show Final Report Hydrologic Model Analysis of the Provo River Basin 2.5.2 Weber River Water Rights Analysis The collection and analysis of Weber River water rights data proceeded in much the same fashion as the Provo River water rights analysis, with the exception that rights lower in priority than those associated with Provo River transbasin rights were not analyzed. Weber River water rights and institutional arrangements with a priority date prior to 1939 were included. This cut- off date was selected to simplify the analysis, and because rights and arrangements after 1939 should not affect diversions through the Weber- Provo Canal. The Weber- Provo diversion rights A9568, A9580, A12141, and A9569 are exercised as direct flow rights and through exchanges with Echo Reservoir. Contracts associated with these diversion rights include the 1926 contract between USBR and the Weber River Water Users Association, and the 1938 Power Contract. Information was collected from four different sources. The Weber River Decree ( Civil 7487, dated 1937) and its associated Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law were reviewed. Portions of the tabulated surface rights upstream of Gateway were digitized for search. The Utah State Division of Water Rights database was searched by user name and by diversion location. Meetings were held with Weber River water users, and Weber River Commissioner's Reports were reviewed. Weber River water rights were analyzed to determine the rights that would be modeled individually, and the rights that could be lumped or included in the natural flow hydrology of the basin. The Weber River Decree and the River Commissioner's Reports were used to determine which rights to model. A total of 678 water rights were identified as being without diversion data in the Commissioner's Reports. These rights, which represent 27,600 acres, were included in the natural hydrology of the basin. Pre- 1939 decreed rights downstream of Gateway were identified and modeled as a lumped demand on the model at the Gateway node. More than 850 identified rights with priorities junior to the Weber- Provo diversion rights were not modeled. The water rights and arrangements that allow diversions from the Weber River to the Provo River were analyzed extensively. The applications and associated changes, agreements, and previous interpretations were obtained and examined. Representatives of the parties to the agreements, and the staff of the State Division of Water Rights were questioned concerning their interpretations of the water rights, and the actual practices followed in implementing them. A brief summary of how PROSIM implements the primary Weber- Provo transbasin diversion rights is presented in a table in Appendix A. A more complete discussion of these and other Weber River water rights, and of how these are simulated by PROSIM is contained in draft Technical Memorandum # 6 - Weber River Water Rights Analysis ( CUWCD, 1993e). January 1998 Page 18 |
