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Show Property Name: Utah and Salt Lake Canal Site Number: 42SL295 Site Type: Irrigation Canal Site Description: The Utah and Salt Lake Canal site is approximately 96.5 kilometers (60 miles) long and runs from the Jordan River dam to a reservoir at Magna. The segment documented here proceeds from a southeast to northwest direction. It is located between an urbanized (residential) area to the northwest and agricultural fields to the south and consists of a 20 meter (65.62 foot) long section of canal. A small wetlands corridor ranging from 1.5 to 5.8 meters (5 to 19 feet) wide runs along the western edge of the canal. The segment consists of an uncovered, dirt-walled section of the canal, which is presently used mainly for irrigation. At this location of the site, the segment runs underneath a modem Denver and Rio Grande Western railroad bridge located at approximately 8500 S 2800 W in West Jordan. The bridge consists of poured-in-place concrete abutments, steel I-beam structural members, and wood railroad-tie decking. A galvanized pipe rail runs along the south side of the bridge. Site History: The Utah and Salt Lake Canal was initially constructed in 1872, when Archibald Gardner dug a 400-foot ditch above the Jordan River Dam. Salt Lake County extended the ditch, fmishing construction in 1880, and water first flowed through the canal on August 5, 1881. The presence of the Utah and Salt Lake Canal allowed the irrigation of the upland bench areas in Riverton. "In 1899, the canal was enlarged for its first two miles in order to take all of the flow of the Jordan River, except what was diverted into the East Jordan Canal, to the forebay of the Jordan Narrows Power Plant. ... Work on the canal was conducted from September 1, 1914 to April 29, 1918 to accommodate an increased flow of water sufficient to operate the concentrating mills at Magna and Arthur" (Hom 2004:32) National Register Assessment: Eligible Property Name: Utah Lake Distributing Canal Site Number: 42SL286 Site Type: Irrigation Canal Site Description: The Utah Lake Distributing Canal site begins at a pumping plant in Utah Lake and runs forty-nine miles north to the Hunter, Riverton and Gardner areas. The 145 meter (475 foot) segment documented in this study runs in a generally south-to-north direction. It is located southeast of the intersection of the Bangerter and Old Bingham Highways. An open field crossed by two-track and dirt roads lies east of the canal. A small wetlands corridor approximately 3.l meters (10 feet) wide runs along both edges of the canal. The segment consists of an uncovered, dirt-walled section of the canal. The 4 meter (13 foot) wide canal is flanked by a dirt access road. The segment runs underneath a modem Denver and Rio Grande Western railroad bridge located at Bangerter Highway and 3590 W (Jordan Valley Way) in West Jordan. Site History: In 1908, Joseph R. Murdock, President of the Utah Lake Irrigation Company, filed an application to appropriate water from Utah Lake, and to distribute water by canal from a pumping plat to the Hunter, Riverton, and Gardner areas. Following approval, the canal was constructed between June 1910 and November 1923. Water was carried along the first segment of the canal in May 1912. The canal eventually grew to be 49 miles in length, ~nd ranged from between 8 and 30 feet wide (Hom 2004). 19 |
