A History of Uintah County

Water resources

11 Life Blood of the County WATER RESOURCES W. hile following an Indian trail which crossed Brush Creek and Ashley Creek above present-day Jensen in 1776, Father Escalante mentioned in his journal that the fertile lands adjacent to the Green River could be irrigated from those two streams. This was undoubt­edly the first recorded mention of irrigation in Uintah County, but evidence indicates that prehistoric peoples practiced ditch irrigation along Brush Creek northeast of Vernal. Ditches used by Native Americans were said to have been found by early settlers and later partially reused by white farmers.1 The first white settlers arriving in the valley saw the same possibilities for the area that Escalante had observed along the Green River and located on land near water. Those who followed progressively settled on land a little farther out, and the borders of the settlement gradually expanded year by year until the waters of the nearby streams could not irrigate the land. Efforts to increase farmland led to the beginnings of a countywide irrigation system. In Ashley Valley three streams have provided irrigation water to communities and farmlands. They are Ashley Creek (originally called 294 WATER RESOURCES 295 Ashley River and Ashley Fork), Brush Creek, and Dry Fork. Ashley Creek was the source for the county's first irrigation ditch, built by Pardon Dodds in 1873. The majority of the county's ditches and canals today draw water from Ashley Creek. However, in 1878 ditches were also dug to tap waters from Brush Creek and Dry Fork Creek. These first ditches were usually the work of individuals like Pardon Dodds or of families like the Isaac Burton family and lacob Burns family who dug separate ditches from Brush Creek. After the turn of the century, when individual and family resources were not adequate for more extensive projects, canal or irrigation companies were orga­nized with numerous shareholders. Neighbors sometimes grouped together to dig ditches to their property. As the area population grew and newcomers had to settle farther from streams, the need for canals became more evident. Irrigation companies were formed and pooling of resources and labor was instituted. Companies also helped when irrigation disputes were taken to the county court, as a group often made a better impression with the court and could more easily raise money to fight a court case. The first irrigation ditch that carried water from Ashley Creek is still referred to as Dodds Ditch. In the spring of 1876 a second ditch was made by Robert Snyder and lames M. Barker below the Dodds Ditch on the north side of Ashley Creek.2 Edwin Colton and his brother Sterling filed on water in Ashley Creek and dug the Colton Ditch. The Colton ditch was dug on the west side of Ashley Creek where the Ashley Upper Canal is presently diverted. Colton Ditch water is carried through the Ashley Upper to the Colton Ditch lateral canal in the west part of the valley. The Hardy Ditch began at 1949 North 2500 West, came south to 1500 North, turned east, and ended at about 2000 West. This ditch came out of Ashley Creek where the Central Canal is now located. Ward Murray built a ditch south of the south fork in the town of Ashley and by 1896 it was known as the LeBeaux Ditch. The Mormon Ditch, taken out of Ashley Creek, waters property around 1500 East and still retains its name. In the spring of 1878 Isaac Burton, Sr., and his sons took the first ditch out of Brush Creek, diverting the water for irrigation purposes in lensen, and it still bears their name. Thirty-two years later Burton 296 HISTORY OF UINTAH COUNTY Ditch Company was formed on 31 March 1910 to build a ditch from Brush Creek to be used by the many settlers who were then in the upper lensen area. Company stock included 550 shares valued at ten dollars per share, and the first officers were Samuel Haslem, presi­dent; Hugh Snow, secretary; and Andrew Murray, treasurer. By 1940 it was called the Burton Canal Company. The Jacob Burns family, who came to Jensen two weeks after the Burtons, made a ditch from Brush Creek to raise a vegetable garden. The ditch could be traced along the hills long after the family had moved. This area is now called Burns Bench, and the ditch is called Burns Bench Canal. The Burns Bench Brush Creek Canal Company was formed 7 July 1924. It began about two miles northwest of where Brush Creek runs into the Green River and wound south around the lower part of upper Burns Bench. George Wilkins was the company's first president, with Peter Peterson vice-president, and Amasa Caldwell secretary and treasurer. The stock was issued at 300 shares valued at eighty dollars per share; one share watered ten acres. The first ditch on the south end of lensen came out of the west side of Ashley Creek a little southeast of 4556 East Highway 40. It was called Paulson Ditch and was built by David O. and J.B. Mackay to irrigate what in 1909 were the Paulson and Chapman farms. As more settlers moved to the area, the ditch was enlarged into the Union Canal. The Union Canal Company was formed on 17 November 1897 and controlled a ditch beginning on the south bank of Ashley Creek in the Riverdale (lensen) District. The first officers of this com­pany were John A. Angus, president; John T. Rasmussen, vice-president; and A.N. Timothy, secretary and treasurer. The capital stock was $3,000-which was divided into 200 shares. Riverdale Ditch comes out of Ashley Creek and provides irrigation water for land around 4000 East 4000 South. In the spring of 1878 a townsite was laid out at Mountain Dell around a large spring. In the year 1880 Teancum Taylor, with help from other settlers, built a large cottonwood water trough and placed it in the large spring to make the water easy for all to access. This remained in use until 1933 when it was necessary to improve a short turn in the road for school bus safety. For the sake of sentiment, the old flume was buried instead of being destroyed. WATER RESOURCES 297 Also in 1878 a small ditch was taken out on the north side of Dry Fork Creek. More settlers arrived and a larger ditch was made in 1879, conveying the water from the creek onto the farming land. This creek is dry about eight months of the year, the water generally appearing in May and disappearing by August.3 The settlers in Mountain Dell (Dry Fork), which is located twelve miles northwest of Vernal, found a large stream of surface water flowing from a water­shed of considerable size in Dry Fork Canyon. A substantial amount of the water disappeared underground in each of the three forks of Dry Fork Creek where the streams crossed an area known as "the sinks" about seven miles upstream from the town of Dry Fork. Usually after August the main channel below the sinks was dry, hence the name Dry Fork. The men of the community decided to dig a ditch around the largest sink in the canyon in an effort to save the precious water for irrigation purposes. Their efforts were fruitless, as the water along with the fish in the stream disappeared into another sinkhole. In the fall of 1893 a group of men formed the Uintah Milling 8c Flume Company, capitalized at $26,000 with Lycurgus lohnson, president; Joseph Hacking, vice-president; and John Glenn, secretary. It was decided that building a flume to carry the water over the sink areas was the answer to bringing the water to the valley. It also was claimed that the project would be worth over $200,000 to Ashley Valley since it would bring under cultivation a large tract of land that would oth­erwise be worthless. In 1894 or 1895 some of the men in the company built a rough wagon road up the canyon to Horseshoe Park near the sinks, where it was planned to set up a sawmill that had been purchased to saw tim­ber for the flume. The road was built using shovels, picks, and a crude scraper pulled by a horse. In the fall of 1895 lumber was hauled on sleighs down to the site of the flume above the Massey Ranch. The fol­lowing spring difficult construction work began on the wooden flume. The flume was more than three-fourths of a mile long and four feet wide, and it cost the company $10,000 to build it and to dig ditches to carry the water the remainder of the way. The water was turned into the flume, but the green lumber leaked so badly that the ground supporting the trestles softened and washed away in a few 298 HISTORY OF UINTAH COUNTY Wooden Flume in Dry Fork Canyon. (UCLRHC, C. J. Neal collection) days, causing the trestles to give way and topple over. This entailed another operation to construct a better foundation for the flume. Lumber was sawed at the mill the remainder of 1896 in an unsuccess­ful effort to raise enough money to complete the project. A deal later was made with Lycurgus Johnson to bring the water down below the sink area, but this effort also failed. The project was doomed for fail­ure because the sides of the canyon where the piers were placed to support the flume were part of a glacial moraine which was unstable when wet. The problem proved too much for the settlers.4 In 1912 civil engineer J. Winter Smith concluded that the water which entered the Dry Fork sinks was lost to all practical purposes and that the water did not reappear in either Dry Fork below the sinks or in Ashley Creek Springs. He based his conclusions on color and salt tests he conducted. The Dry Fork Irrigation Company was formed 8 March 1922 at Mountain Dell. Class A stock included 1,141 shares and 500 shares of class B stock, at a value of six dollars per share for both. Each share would water one acre. WATER RESOURCES 299 Nature eventually did what men could not do. In the summer of 1936 water came to Dry Fork when debris filled the sinks; the water ran over the sinks, giving Dry Fork a nice stream all summer.5 In 1943 further systematic studies of this sink phenomenon were started. A Bureau of Reclamation geologist made a study and reported that he believed the disappearing water stayed in the Dry Fork drainage, con­tinuing down the valley either in underground deposits resting on the bedrock or in limestone caverns near the surface. About that same time the Ashley Valley Reservoir Company started a test pit for continued studies but discontinued digging at a depth of sixty-one feet because of lack of funds. In 1944 the Bureau of Reclamation took the pit down to ninety-three feet, and an instru­ment to record the water surface in the pit was installed. The findings were correlated and it was reported that beyond "any reasonable doubt" the water continued underground down the Dry Fork drainage on the overburden. This water was the source of the Dry Fork spring and perhaps the springs and swamps immediately north of Vernal.6 Since the bottom of Dry Fork channel was filled with glacial debris, the idea was conceived to dig a deep trench and put in a wall to stop the flow of water and force it back to the surface. Seismic instrumentation and charges were used, and it was determined that 250 to 300 feet of the channel was filled with debris.7 Even the mod­ern engineers then gave up. In 1954 the U.S. Geological Survey began an investigation. Water was diverted from the Mosby Canal into a sinkhole at the head of a small tributary to the main west fork of Dry Fork. Three hours after the water disappeared in the sinkhole an increase in flow was noted at the Deep Creek springs-5.2 miles distant. A test was later made by placing dye into the Mosby sinkhole; fourteen days later, detectable amounts of dye appeared in the Deep Creek springs. From this time on many ideas were explored, studies made, and meetings held with the Utah Water and Power Board. The Bureau of Reclamation and the U. S. Geological Survey worked with them, but the problem of the lost water still remained unsolved. In 1966 two Soil Conservation Service consultants, Bob Bridges and Dean Maxwell, concluded that no loss of water existed on Ashley 300 HISTORY OF UINTAH COUNTY Creek, but it was possible that Dry Fork water could be going under­ground and emerging in the Ashley Creek springs, the main munici­pal water supply for the city of Vernal. After consultation with the Uintah Water Conservancy District and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, it was decided to conduct another dye test. Dye was introduced simultaneously at the upper gagging stations of all three forks of Dry Fork and the test was continued non-stop for thirty-six hours. The first appearance of the dye was recorded in the Vernal City water main from the Ashley Creek springs sixty-nine hours after the beginning of the dye input. The dye appeared only in the Ashley Creek springs and not in Ashley Creek above the springs. About 100 hours after the start of the test, all the water distributed by the Vernal municipal water system was pink, a fact which caused consternation when the public turned on their faucets for a drink of water until they were informed by the local radio station that the dye was harm­less. No dye was found in tests in Deep Creek springs until three weeks later. The Bureau of Reclamation estimated that 90 percent of the water lost in the sinks in the three forks of Dry Fork reappeared in the Ashley Creek springs. After many years of study at tremendous cost, nothing had really changed-the water from the springs was being used by the companies who had shares in it and Dry Fork was still without water.8 Dye also was placed in the sinks on Little Brush Creek and Big Brush Creek, and all of this water showed up in the Big Brush Creek spring. Returning to the earlier years, Alfred Westover, Heber Campbell, Billie Powell, Harry Yarnell, Louis Kabell, and Ben Heater built the Spring Creek Ditch and also the White Wash Ditch, which emptied into the Rock Point Canal after that canal was built. The Island Ditch was also built between Rock Point Canal and Ashley Creek; it ran parallel to the canal and served all the lowlands on the north side of the creek. The Island Ditch Company was started on 6 April 1904. This ditch was taken out of the south branch of Ashley Creek above the headgate of the Central Irrigation Company canal in the Thornburgh diversion. The capital stock of this company was $399.50, divided into 399.5 shares at one dollar per share. This ditch later became known as the Island Irrigation Canal. In early settlement years, small ditches were built to carry water WATER RESOURCES 301 to nearby lands; but not until 1880 were significant attempts made to utilize the lands at any distance from the creeks. By the summer of 1880, three canals, the Central, Ashley Upper, and Rock Point, were under construction.9 On 2 May 1880 Rock Point Canal and Irrigation Company began the construction of a canal that hugged the northern boundary of the valley and covered the land along the hills for the full length of the valley. When the company was incorporated on 23 March 1893, the canal was approximately six miles long. It was enlarged in 1884 from a depth of one foot to fourteen inches. It came out of Ashley Creek and eventually ran back into the same creek. No money was allocated for this canal; the water was called capital stock, and the stockholders were to work off assessments and draw their water through headgates and laterals. The first officers were Sanford Green, John Winn, and Harry Yarnell. Another undertaking by early settlers was to divert high water from the Rock Point Canal where it crossed the mouth of Steinaker Draw and use it to irrigate the badlands to the east in the Buckskin Hills of Ashley Ward. This water was planned to be used not only for early spring planting but also to fill reservoirs constructed along the route of the canal. When the right-of-way and other legal matters were completed, work began on the canal. It traversed several cuts and a tunnel, winding its way several miles in an easterly direction toward the farming community. Many men put in money and long hours of hard labor with teams and scrapers to build the canal, rem­nants of which can still be seen going east of 1500 North and 500 East, but for some undiscovered reason the canal was never com­pleted. 10 The Ashley Central Canal was first envisioned by Nelson Merkley, who came to Ashley in 1879. Merkley took land on the southeast corner of the intersection at 500 North and 1500 West, and his childhood friend lames Hacking settled across the street on the northeast corner. A deep ravine ran diagonally across Merkley's farm to a point near the tabernacle (temple) and then east near 200 South. A stream of water ran through there and drained a large area. Water had been diverted to this stream out of Ashley Creek early by Lycurgus lohnson, AJ. lohnson, and David lohnstun, who placed it on their land. The diversion out of Ashley Creek was at the Fort 302 HISTORY OF UINTAH COUNTY Thornburgh diversion. Three weeks were spent taking out the water and bringing it to the land in Vernal. The first land irrigated in Vernal was near the site of the future tabernacle, where David lohnstun had located.11 Merkley's land extended south to Main Street and 1500 West, and he could not irrigate his land that was above this diagonal stream passing through his property. He decided to dig a canal along the top of his property so he could irrigate all his land. He was told water would not run that way; but he insisted it had to, as he needed the water to irrigate that location. He plowed a furrow, which was the beginning of what is now known as the Kids', or Central, Canal. The Ashley Central Irrigation Company was incorporated in 1884; its canal was nearly six miles long and was continually improved. The company started with fifty-seven stockholders with capital stock valued at $8,000, which was divided into 320 shares val­ued at twenty-five dollars a share. The canal covered the area from the lower part of Maeser down to present Vernal City and was later extended to Naples and part of Davis Ward. The canal taken to Naples was also surveyed by Nelson Merkley, who used a sixteen-foot-long two-by-four board and a spirit level. The canal sloped a quarter-inch each sixteen feet. The rustic survey equipment was built to look like a saw-horse with one set of legs shorter than the other. The ground was so hard that oxen were used to plow the first furrow, and then horses were hooked on a "Go Devil," a handmade scraper constructed of two planks, one shorter than the other, with an end of each board fastened to form a large V, with a short brace between to hold the apparatus firm. This canal served all the land north of a point beginning near the Reynolds Mill in Maeser at 1500 North and 1500 West and running diagonally southeast to a point in the upper part of Naples. All the land lying southwest of this line had to be provided for by other canals. The Upper Canal, the Alta Ditch, and later the Highline Canal were built to carry water to these lands. Ashley Upper Canal construction work began in 1880, and a company was formed 26 February 1884. The capital stock of the company was $28,000-divided into 1,120 shares valued at twenty-five dollars per share. At the time of incorporation, thirty-eight stock- WATER RESOURCES 303 holders had subscribed and the canal was twelve miles long, begin­ning in the mouth of Ashley Canyon just above 7024 North Dry Fork Canyon where the conversion is located. Among the organizers were lames H. Glines, Lycurgus lohnson, and S.D. Colton. Alta Ditch came out of the Upper Canal on the west side and car­ried water to the Maeser cemetery. The Ashley Water Company was formed and the ditch was taken to about 1500 South. Highline Canal Company purchased the Ashley Water Company in 1913, and the ditch was converted into the Highline Canal. The Upper and Highline canals split just below the conversion at the mouth of Dry Fork and the Highline goes through a tunnel just west of the Dry Fork highway at 3400 North 3500 West. It then runs along the foothills at the west end of the valley in a southerly direction where it passes through another tunnel west of Highway 40 and west of 2800 West 1900 South. The Highline Canal Company construction began on 15 June 1920. This water was to be used during high water or after the commitments of other canals were satisfied. It is used to irrigate land all along the canal, including Davis Ward, to the Green River. The company's first officers were M.M. Batty, president; lohn B. Eaton, vice-president; and George Slaugh, secretary-treasurer. The incorporators of this canal were Enos Bennion, M.M. Batty, and W.S. Henderson. Steinaker Canal Company began on 8 May 1915 when a canal was built to carry water coming from Ashley Fork to the area now covered by Steinaker Reservoir. Willis S. lohnson was company pres­ident and the capital stock was $6,800, divided into sixty-eight shares. The Bureau of Reclamation built the Steinaker feeder canal as a part of its Vernal Unit. Upper service canals all end on the south end of Davis Ward around 5000 South; Highline Canal extends farther east. The Steinaker Ditch is diverted from Ashley Creek at the mouth of Dry Fork. In 1887 the county court approved a petition from the people of Riverdale (Jensen) for a water district to be set up near Ashley Creek, giving it the name Ashley Lower Irrigation District.12 The Ashley River Irrigation Company was formed on 15 February 1905 to enlarge a ditch known as the Mecham-McCarrell Ditch and obtain proper title to the same. The capital stock of this company was 304 HISTORY OF UINTAH COUNTY $6,000, divided into 600 shares. Its first officers were lohn Mecham, president; Moses Boren, vice-president; and Hyrum Mantle, trea­surer. Settlers living along Brush Creek formed together in 1906, call­ing themselves Brush Creek Irrigation Company, and the company incorporated in 1908. Jensen Irrigation Company was formed 11 April 1914 to facili­tate the use of water from Ashley Creek in the lensen area. The capi­tal stock of this company was $1,600, with 160 shares. Bernard Gardiner was president, David Horrocks vice-president, and Gerald Stewart treasurer. In 1935 the Mosby Irrigation Company was incorporated for $150,000-divided into 10,000 shares at fifteen dollars per share. Its headquarters were located in LaPoint. Filings were made on 150 sec­ond feet of water in the Dry Fork headwaters. Several reservoir sites were filed on including Twin Lakes and Blanchett Park. It was claimed that this would not interfere with water belonging to Ashley Valley or Deep Creek spring. Federal aid made it possible to take water over Mosby Mountain by means of a tunnel and canals to the western side of the county. Directors of this company were V.T. Rice, J.C. Hacking, Frank Huber, Clarence Burton, and J.F. Perry.13 Mosby Irrigation Company had filed on water from Dry Fork drainage and had constructed a diversion dam at Blanchett Park. Dry Fork people became alarmed when it was learned the company was building a canal to capture the flow from Twin Lakes, a part of the Dry Fork stream system. These people alerted Uintah Water Conservancy District and Vernal canal companies. Negotiations between Mosby Company and the Ashley Valley companies followed. A compromise was reached in which Mosby was supposed to relin­quish all its filings on Dry Fork drainage and the BLM agreed to pipe water across the sinks. The canal to the Dry Fork Twin Lakes was abandoned and the flow to be diverted from Blanchett Park to Mosby was determined. This agreement was then approved by the district court. This happened prior to the dye tests on Dry Fork Creek, which impacted many water rights. Controversy erupted as filings were transferred. Some felt the filings should have been relinquished, but Mosby continued to use that water. The fifty-year lease Mosby held WATER RESOURCES 305 expired in 1985, and its water stock currently is in dispute as it is being considered for use in the Blanchett Reservoir.14 The Julius Park Reservoir was constructed by the Mosby Irrigation Company. It serves as a storage and regulation facility for water diverted from Dry Fork at the Blanchett Park diversion. All of the canals in Ashley Valley and below were supplied by Ashley Creek, while the land farther east at Brush Creek and Jensen were irrigated from canals and ditches taken out of Brush Creek. Dry Fork Creek provided water to the Dry Fork area, Mosby, and Deep Creek. West side and southern communities received irrigation water from Lake Fork, the Whiterocks River (which flows into the Uinta River), the Uinta River, Dry Gulch, and the Duchesne River. Also, by 1928, 800 miles of canals had been constructed on the Indian reser­vation by the federal government.15 The Ashley Valley settlers began the development of water facili­ties within the county to extend the farmlands from the majestic Uinta Mountains to the Ouray bottomlands. Other canals later were constructed on the west side of the county, and many irrigation com­panies have been formed to assure the maximum use of the irriga­tion waters. In addition to the traditional diversion methods, waterwheels were used to obtain water from the Green River for irrigation in Jensen. In 1891 George Langston, Frank Goodman, and Napoleon Lebeau built a large waterwheel in the Green River near the old Indian ford (Escalante Crossing). This water was expected to irrigate more than 100 acres. In 1892 Lebeau was concerned about some driftwood that was coming down the river which he was afraid might take out the waterwheel. He was checking the situation when he slipped, striking his head on a pole, and fell into the churning water below. While his helpless wife watched, he bobbed to the surface a few times and was never seen again. In January 1906 George A. Slaugh became interested in pump­ing water out of the Green River at his ranch. He went to the town of Green River, Utah, to inspect that area's irrigation system and to study fruit-growing methods. He saw the potential to use the same method in lensen, and that summer he built a waterwheel on the Green River to lift water out of the river. The wheel was twenty-nine 306 HISTORY OF UINTAH COUNTY Waterwheel along the Green River at Thorne Ranch in lensen. (UCLRHC, L. C. Thorne collection) feet in diameter with an eleven-foot face. It contained sixty-six spokes and twenty-two paddles, each paddle being four feet wide. Between the spokes were twenty-eight galvanized buckets to carry the water up the wheel. The wheel made two revolutions a minute, delivering the contents of the buckets into a trough. At each revolution it emp­tied 280 gallons of water, for a total of 560 gallons per minute.16 Other waterwheels along the Green River were eventually located at the Thorne Ranch north of lensen and at William S. Powell's ranch across the river and south of Jensen. Two were made of wood and one was made of metal. Threats to the waterwheels included ice jams and high water bringing driftwood. An ice jam took the Powell water­wheel out. Waterwheels eventually proved too costly and were aban­doned. Today huge pumps take the place of waterwheels on the Green River, but threats of damage from high water are still present. When the Uintah Indian Reservation was opened to white people for homesteading in 1905, settlers flocked to the area in droves. Many filed on land and then returned home to places all over the western United States. Some homesteaders never even looked into the water WATER RESOURCES 307 situation, as the developers had told them plenty of water was avail­able. This condition had been anticipated by several of the locating companies, particularly the Wasatch Development Company. In order that their prospective clients might not lose water rights, these locating companies filed upon large quantities of the water of the reservation streams. Also, private individuals who were financially able to do so made large filings upon the reservation waters. Indian agent Captain C.G. Hall, acting on behalf of the Indians, was among the first to file upon the waters of the Duchesne, Lake Fork, and Uinta rivers. When this situation was made known to the homesteaders, a meeting was called and the Settler's Protective Association was orga­nized on 9 September 1905. This was a big stepping-stone to the organization of irrigation companies upon former reservation land. A meeting was then held in Vernal in November with all the locating companies represented. That same night the settlers of the Dry Gulch, Lake Fork, and Uintah districts held a meeting to form a water company. The government was also disposed to cooperate with the settlers in constructing irrigation canals. At a follow-up meeting held at Vernal on 11 November 1905 the articles of incorporation of the new Dry Gulch Irrigation Company were adopted. The combined district embraced all territory between Lake Fork and the Uinta River. It was capitalized at $80,000, divided into one dollar shares, each share supposed to cover an acre of land. Officers elected were R.S. Collett, J. Garnet Holmes, J.H. Harding, G.W. Fell, and George D. Merkley, with NJ. Meagher, treasurer. The water filings of the Wasatch Development Company as well as those of NJ. Meagher and many others were assigned to the new company. The actual incorpo­ration papers were filed on 4 December 1905. The story of the Dry Gulch Irrigation Company is an important one. It developed out of a different set of circumstances than had the irrigation ditches and canals in the eastern part of the county, being part of a larger effort to settle the Uintah Indian Reservation. It was not formed by a number of individuals or independent water users; rather, it was established as an irrigation company to aid homestead­ers in developing an irrigation system. The mere size of the irrigation 308 HISTORY OF UINTAH COUNTY company had significant impact on the development of water of the entire two-county area. One cloud hung on the horizon: a company organized in Denver known as the Dry Gulch Homesteader's Irrigation and Improvement Association had an early water filing in the very heart of the Dry Gulch District. Under the protective wings of this company were over 500 bona fide homesteaders; however, the two companies eventually merged. The first survey of a canal from the Uinta River for the Dry Gulch Irrigation Company was made in March 1906,17 and work began on the canals with the slogan, "Water by May 1906." In 1924 the Dry Gulch Irrigation Company spent $35,000 for reservoirs at five lakes at the head of the Uinta River, and by 1928 the company laid claim to being among the largest mutual irrigation companies in the world, providing water for 44,058 acres of land in Uintah and Duchesne counties.18 Homesteaders below the Whiterocks River (which flows into the Uinta River) also had problems after filing on homesteads in 1905. The need to increase water supplies for irrigation purposes was felt by settlers in the present LaPoint-Tridell area. The Indian allotments had prior claim on the natural flow of local streams, and the settlers were forced either to leave their land or build canals. The land on both sides of the rivers had been designated as Indian grazing ground, with no provision for right-of-ways for building canals or roads. This created a problem. The settlers tried to obtain permission for right-of-ways from the government and were told an official would be sent out in the spring of 1906. The settlers then formed the Whiterocks Irrigation Company on 13 January 1906, with thirteen stockholders. lohn Bates was chosen president, with J. L. McConkie and J.C. Hacking as directors. Engineer Byron O. Colton, Ir., and his assistant lohn C. McConkie made the survey for a canal, planning to bring water from Whiterocks Canyon to LaPoint and Tridell. When spring came and the official had not arrived, the settlers became impatient and took matters into their own hands. C.B. Bartlett was chosen as foreman and started work on the canal. There was conflict over the water between individual Indian and white water users, each having some support from the laws of the WATER RESOURCES 309 land for their actions. A group of homesteaders came from Vernal and started work on the canal but became very discouraged after finding nearly all the survey stakes had been pulled up by the Indians and thrown away. The men searched out enough stakes to give them the east and west boundaries, and the ground was broken up for an enterprise that was to be the lifeblood of the present community.19 Both the Indians and white settlers felt aggrieved and tension continued to grow. The Indians did not want the settlers building canals through the middle of their grazing lands. The white settlers had obtained their allotments in good faith and felt they deserved the right to acquire water for their lands. Nearly 1,100 white homestead­ers had moved onto the newly acquired reservation allotments. The Department of the Interior was caught squarely in the middle, feeling obligated to protect Indian lands and water rights yet cognizant of the needs of white homesteaders. Patchwork solutions were eventu­ally found, and today, even though there continues to be difficulties, a mutual working relationship exists between white and Indian water users, each using parts of the others' irrigation systems. Congress by the 1890s recognized that individual Indian farmers would need government aid to be successful in the arid West. For the Ute people, this financial aid came shortly after the opening of the Uintah Indian Reservation in 1905. Periodically, federal appropria­tions were made to the Ute people for the construction of Indian canals. The national Dawes Act and Utah State law provided ways to gain access to Indian land. The Dawes Act authorized the Secretary of the Interior to grant right-of-ways "through any lands granted to an Indian, or a tribe of Indians . . . for public use, or to condemn such lands to public uses, upon making just compensation." The Secretary of the Interior could deny white irrigators right-of-ways across Indian allotments if, in his judgment, the canals caused irreparable damage to Indian allotments or Indian water rights. Yet Utah state law granted irrigation companies the power of eminent domain "for the construction, maintenance, repair and use of necessary reservoirs, dams, water gates, canals, ditches. . . ."20 The local Indian agent and the Department of the Interior came under intense political and legal 310 HISTORY OF UINTAH COUNTY pressure to permit the construction of irrigation canals across Indian allotments. Later, through the efforts of Senator George Sutherland, a right-of- way was granted the white settlers for digging irrigation canals through Indian territory on the Uintah Reservation and in some cases sharing the Indian canals which had already been built by the government. Also, Indians began to lease much of their allotted lands to white homesteaders and the settlers then had access to the Indians' water rights.21 Many years were spent planning, engineering, and overseeing the repair, improvement, and extension of the Whiterocks Canal, which eventually provided water not only for LaPoint and Tridell but also for Randlett and other towns to the south. The Uinta River Irrigation Company was formed on 25 February 1905 with lohn T. Nichols as president. This company maintained dams, canals, reservoirs, and pipelines in the area around Gusher. Ouray Valley Irrigation Company was formed on 10 December 1907 by Joseph A. McKee, Robert Bodily, and R.S. Collett. It was organized to file for the right to use 210 second-feet of water from the Uinta River. The capital stock value of this company was $10,000, divided into 2,000 shares. The Bullock, Brough, and Sand Wash reser­voirs are used to irrigate the Ouray Valley, and part of these waters flow into Pelican Lake. The canal was thirty-five miles long. Colorado Park Canal Company was formed on 24 December 1907 by Orlando Bracken, J.P. Jensen, Arthur L. Grey, Ira Bryant, John H. Evans, and Enoch O. Lybbert. This canal, first called Grey Ditch, was built by a group of Colorado homesteaders. It was taken out of the Uinta River above Fort Duchesne and flowed down into Ouray Valley.22 In 1937 the Ouray Valley and Colorado Park canal compa­nies were consolidated as the Ouray Park Irrigation Company. The Cliff Lake and Whiterocks reservoirs were constructed by the Ouray Park Irrigation Company. Released water goes into the Whiterocks River and is then diverted to the Ouray Park canal system. The Randlett Irrigation Company was formed on 10 June 1908 for the purpose of using Uinta River waters for irrigation, storage, and domestic needs. The first officers of the company were O.H. WATER RESOURCES 311 Bracken, president, and H.T. Moore, secretary-treasurer. The capital stock of this company was 1,000 shares at five dollars each. Big Six Irrigation Company was formed at Leeton on 3 lanuary 1906, claiming water from the Uinta River branch of the Green River system. The cash value of this company was $4,000, with 1,200 shares offered. The first officers were T.S. Gunn, president; M.B. Peterson, vice-president; John N. Cool, treasurer; and Leslie O'Daiseall, secre­tary. Most of the land on Diamond Mountain is dry farmed, but in 1894 Charles Ward and the Christensen brothers built a large reser­voir at the head of Pot Creek which was one-half mile wide by three-fourths mile long; its water averaged ten feet deep. The 100-foot-long dam had a solid front of masonry and was twenty-five feet high and sixty feet wide at the bottom. The dam cost $700 to build, and it was estimated that from this stored water 2,000 acres could be irrigated.23 A ditch was taken out of Pot Creek and ran through Crouse Canyon to irrigate land at the Park Livestock Ranch in Brown's Park. Stanley Crouse had Fred Feltch build the Crouse Reservoir to store the water near the top of Diamond Mountain. When Zelph S. Calder built Calder Pond on the mountain, he had to let a certain portion of water go to Crouse Reservoir, which had prior rights. Reservoirs Irrigators soon learned they must allow for heavy spring runoffs which could deplete the water supply to such an extent that sufficient water for irrigation late in the summer was not available. Therefore, reservoirs for water storage came into existence almost as soon as did canals. In March 1889 the presidents of the Upper and Central Irrigation companies presented a petition to the county court signed by citizens of Uintah County asking for a meeting to organize a com­pany to bring water for irrigation from the lakes at the head of Ashley Creek and Dry Fork. The petition was granted. Homesteaders also began to develop reservoirs in the mountains for storage of water. Some of the first to be developed were Brown Lake on the Lake Fork drainage and Duck Lake, Timothy Lake, and Farmers Lake on the Yellowstone River. At first the settlers were inclined to take the easiest way by merely lowering the river channels 312 HISTORY OF UINTAH COUNTY to drain existing lakes. The first attempt to bring more water down in the 1890s created problems. Some of the settlers went to the mountain and set about lowering the outlets or natural dams of the mountain lakes in hopes of increasing the natural stream flow; how­ever, this lowered the water table and actually made less water avail­able late in the summer when irrigation water was most needed. The settlers then began trying to build dams. Rocks, logs, and dirt were used, and some crude structures were installed at the outlet of some of the lakes, including Ashley Twin Lakes and Hacking Lake. The first dams at Twin Lakes were constructed by Lycurgus lohnson, lames Hacking, and a crew of men. A small dam was built at the Dry Fork Twin Lakes, and the Ashley Twin Lakes also had a small impoundment. A reservoir also was built at Long Park with an outlet at Hacking Lake to provide storage for Ashley Valley. Eventually, with the concurrence of the state engineer, filings were approved only when dams and additional storage were needed.24 By 1912 the settlers had gained much experience and knowledge about water conserva­tion, and, with a special-use permit, men went to work on East Park Reservoir, which was completed in 1917. With the drought of 1919, the need for more irrigation water in Ashley Valley became apparent. A request was made to the Utah State Agricultural College for assistance. Special emphasis was given to the need for increasing the water supply either through the construction of storage reservoirs or by improvement of the existing irrigation methods and systems. Water-storage investigations were carried on under the direction of O.W. Israelson of the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station from 1919 to 1923. A test reservoir was con­structed at Twin Lakes; from this reservoir 107 acre-feet of impounded water was turned into the channel of Ashley Creek on 22 September 1922. Measurements taken at the reservoir and at the mouth of Ashley Canyon showed that ninety-four acre-feet of this water found its way into the canals of Ashley Valley. After much study, the Agricultural College suggested ways in which water could be saved by using different irrigation methods.25 In 1919 improved structures were also undertaken at Goose Lakes. In 1934 permits were issued for Long Park and Oaks Park (Buck Pasture) reservoirs. Long Park was completed by 1939. In 1940 WATER RESOURCES 313 an appropriation of $49,214 was made to complete the Oaks Park Reservoir. In order to ensure an improved water supply for the Whiterocks Irrigation Company, a reservoir was built in Paradise Park to capture melting snow in the mountains. Later another reservoir was built higher on the mountain where four lakes-Chipeta, Wigwam, Moccasin, and Papoose-are located. The largest lake is Chipeta and from it the Chipeta Reservoir was named. It was completed on 2 May 1942. The government loaned the company money to complete the work on these reservoirs. Other dams also have been constructed to ensure storage of water-perhaps the county's most valuable resource. Water Rights and Issues Many legal problems have resulted over the use of water. The problem of too many users for too little water, the questions of prior use and conflicting claims, and the questions of Indian water rights and state and federal use of water are all relevant issues in Uintah County. Legal issues relating to water rights have been tested many times in Uintah County courts. The Utah territorial legislature of 1852 granted the county courts the control of water privileges and the control of distribution of water for irrigation and other purposes. Before Uintah County was formed in 1880, local irrigation water rights had to be appropriated through the county court in Heber, Wasatch County. When Uintah County was created, new laws had been passed and the territorial legislature had provided that waters were private property when appropriated. This change in the theory of water rights presented numerous problems to be decided by county authorities. On 20 February 1880 the legislature established the selectmen of the county as ex officio water commissioners. This provision of the legislature created by statute the office of water com­missioner, with authority to decide private water rights and other problems incident to such an office. The Uintah County Court then had the authority to make water appropriations, decisions, and allot­ments. Early laws defined the role of the courts in controlling water for public interest and establishing the irrigation-district system. The first water record found in Uintah County Court minutes 314 HISTORY OF UINTAH COUNTY was on 3 January 1881 when a petition was presented by Isaac Burton and P. Smith for half of all the water in Brush Creek to be set apart for their use and benefit. It was granted. Then Isaac Burton, Sr., and Isaac Burton, Ir., were given half interest in the remaining half of the water in Brush Creek and George Bankhead was granted the remain­ing water in the creek. In 1891 canal companies were instructed by the court to conserve water by constructing flumes and headgates across the natural water channels at the heads of the canals and ditches. The flumes and headgates were to be completed by the 1 April 1892 at the expense of the individuals or companies.26 On 11 July 1892 a group of people with water complaints came to the county court meeting. Judge Isaac Burton, Sr., and the select­men adjourned the meeting long enough to go to Ashley Creek and make a division of water between the Central and Rock Point canal companies and the people living along Ashley Creek. In 1893 more complaints and threatened lawsuits were brought to the county court, and the selectmen again divided the waters of Ashley Creek into each of the canals to the best of their ability. The clerk notified the officers of the canal companies taking water from the natural channel of Ashley Creek to meet with the county court on 9 September 1893 at the courthouse. County Attorney WC. Britt stated that the object of the meeting was to divide the waters of Ashley Creek agreeably to save trouble and lawsuits in the future. The law was read regarding water certificates. At that meeting the Upper Irrigation Company was given one-third of the water of Ashley Creek, less one-third of S.D. Colton's accrued water right. Rock Point Canal Company was issued a certificate for one-sixth of the water, with the exception of one-sixth of S.D. Colton's accrued water right. The settlers along North Ashley Creek were issued a certificate for one-twelfth of the water less one-twelfth of Colton's accrued water right, as were also Isaac Burton and B.O. Colton. Central Irrigation company was issued a certificate for one-third of the waters of Ashley Creek less one-third of S.D. Colton's right. All were instructed to put in weirs and headgates by 1 December 1893.27 Many water feuds still erupted, however, including physical fights on the ditch banks, because someone was caught stealing another's WATER RESOURCES 315 water. Battles are still being fought over the water at present in courts and on ditch banks. The 1893 county court division of the water did not settle the problems. Finally the issue was taken to court again by a group led by Ebenezer G. DeFriez. The court once again divided the waters of Ashley Creek in what became known as the "Dusenberry Decree," signed by ludge Warren N. Dusenberry on 17 November 1897. The division was intricate and complicated, and the seep water was also allocated at the time.28 When Utah became a state in 1896, changes were made and county courts no longer handled water appropriations. Instead, a water commissioner and various watermasters were appointed. In 1901 the board of county commissioners was required to create one or more water districts in the county and appoint water commis­sioners. By 1903 the law was again changed, and a state engineer was appointed and required to create water divisions. The state engineer's office makes all water decisions and allocations at present. Government Water Projects The cost of the development of natural resources including irri­gation was met at the local level until the turn of the century. Since that time the government has become involved in the management of the water resources through the Bureau of Reclamation. Studies began as early as 1889 by a special committee on irrigation, and the first National Irrigation Congress met in Salt Lake City in 1891. Irrigation projects were also undertaken by the government to pro­vide water for the Ute Indians. The Ute Indians also found it difficult to grow crops without irri­gation water. The local Mormon church tried to give the Utes assis­tance. In 1883 the church called Thomas Karren, Jeremiah Hatch, Sr., Israel J. Clark, and leremiah Hatch, Jr., as missionaries to assist the Utes in the construction of a canal over a mile in length about fifteen miles downstream from Fort Duchesne on the Uinta River. This canal proved to be a success, unlike a three-mile canal between the Green and the White rivers built earlier by Indian agents who were unfa­miliar with irrigation methods. By 1892 a substantial Indian settle­ment was using the missionaries' canal. Congressional funding built three more irrigation canals for the 316 HISTORY OF UINTAH COUNTY Utes in the early 1890s-one diverted water from the Uinta River, a second diverted water from Dry Gulch, and a third took water from the Duchesne River and irrigated the reservation area around Randlett.29 Additional federal funding for Indian farmers came following the opening of the Uintah Indian Reservation in 1905. Congress autho­rized $600,000 for the Uintah Irrigation Project, which was directed by a new nationwide Indian reclamation agency-the Indian Irrigation Service. Congress assumed that the Ute allottees would reimburse the government for this appropriation from revenues received from the sale of their lands and profits earned from the sale of crops over the next thirty years. Many Utes were not supportive of this federal action, in part because a key element to this federally funded reclamation project was that non-Indians were granted access to the Indian canals to deliver water to their thirsty farms. The first canal built under the Uintah Irrigation Project was the Whiterocks Canal, followed by the Farm Creek, Deep Creek, and Uintah canals. By 1908 some $330,000 had been spent on the project, which cre­ated many irrigation construction jobs which went mostly to white homesteaders. It was difficult for the Bureau of Indian Affairs to con­vince Utes to participate in the reclamation project with their labor. Most continued to hold to their traditional ways of hunting, fishing, raising horses, and collecting foodstuffs in season. As a result, less than a fourth of the land under the newly constructed Indian canals came under the plow of the Ute people.30 In 1937 in the depths of the Depression it became time for Ute property owners to pay for the services and improvements. By this time, ditches and canals had been dug, individual allotments had been leveled and plowed, and, regardless of whether the services were requested, water had been diverted onto Ute lands. Most Utes could not pay off the debts against them-which were often as much as $1,600. The reservation area itself had been reduced by 91 percent- to 360,000 acres from nearly 4,000,000 acres in 1885. A tribal busi­ness committee was formed in 1937, and it began administering tribal political and economic affairs and took the major responsibil­ity to find funds to pay the debt. During the period from 1937 to 1948, some of the money to pay WATER RESOURCES 317 the debt was obtained from mineral and land leases. During the same period, allotted Utes were assessed for maintenance charges by the BIA; and they were also assessed by the state for irrigation water whether or not the allottee farmed during the period. It was stipu­lated that landowners who did not pay off irrigation-project debts could not work the land. This policy ran most Utes hopelessly into debt. In 1946 the Uintah and White River bands filed a suit in U.S. courts for compensation for wrongful and wasteful use of tribal trust funds in the Uintah Irrigation Project, but this grievance was not suc­cessful. The land acquisition, land subjugation, and irrigation pro­grams basically created jobs for local whites, further developed water resources for local whites, developed Indian land so as to make it more desirable for white lessees, and gave struggling white farmers and ranchers a buyer for the land they wanted to liquidate. The tribe reacquired some land, but individual Utes had little capital with which to develop or acquire the land. It was not until 1956 that a Ute family plan was instituted which directly awarded per capita payments to Utes from tribal money. Deposited payments were placed in accounts administered by Ute Tribal Family Plan officers and BIA personnel. Through this family plan, the BIA was able to make payments on the old debts of the Uintah Irrigation Project.31 The government began to develop other water projects in Utah such as the Strawberry River Project in central Utah in 1905. At the end of World War I, the Colorado River Storage Project came into being. Secretary Franklin Lane of the Department of the Interior wrote a letter to Utah governor Simon Bamberger in 1918 stating that more than a million soldiers had been drawn from U.S. farms and an equal number should return at the close of the war. Improved irriga­tion programs were needed to encourage them to return to farming, and the acreage to be reclaimed in Utah under this project would be from 600,000 to 800,000 acres. Representative L. W. Curry from Vernal was appointed a member of a committee to work on the pro­ject. State officials began looking at various reservoir sites and irriga­tion projects around the state. In Uintah County there was much discussion about where dams should be placed. Some felt it would be 318 HISTORY OF UINTAH COUNTY better to place them on larger streams that empty into the Green River and also to have a large dam on the Green River. The Colorado River Storage Project was a plan to develop the water resources of the Colorado River Basin for irrigation, power production, flood- and silt-control, and other beneficial uses in the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. In 1922 the Colorado River Compact divided the Colorado River Drainage into upper and lower basins, and it also specified the amount of water the Upper Basin was required to deliver to the Lower Basin. The Upper Basin Colorado River Compact of 1948 stipulated the amount of water that each state- Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah-could use for its future projects and present needs. Projects that would affect Uintah County were outlined, including the Vernal Unit, the lensen Project, Echo Park Dam, and Split Mountain Dam. The Vernal Unit-Steinaker Reservoir and the lensen Unit-Tyzack (Red Fleet) Reservoir also were participating units of the Central Utah Project's initial phase. The Central Utah Project (CUP) is a Bureau of Reclamation pro­ject designed to meet the water needs of the people of the state of Utah by developing Utah's share of Colorado River water. This water would help meet irrigation, municipal, and industrial requirements both in the Uinta Basin and along the Wasatch Front. To assure a dependable water supply, large storage dams such as Flaming Gorge and Glen Canyon dams have been built on the upper Colorado River. Under the Colorado River Storage Project Act of 1956, four units of the Central Utah Project-the Vernal, the Bonneville, the Jensen, and the Upalco-were authorized for construction. The Colorado River Basin Project Act of 1968 authorized construction of a fifth unit, the Uintah, and a feasibility study of a sixth, the Ute Indian Unit. The Vernal Unit was completed in 1962 and provides municipal water to Vernal, Maeser, Naples, and Ashley Valley, as well as supplemental irrigation water to 15,000 acres in the Ashley Valley. The lensen Unit provides additional water for municipal and industrial use in the Ashley Valley and supplemental irrigation water to 4,000 acres near lensen. The Uintah Unit would provide irrigation water for Indian and non-Indian land in the Uinta River Valley and water for muni­cipal and industrial uses. WATER RESOURCES 319 The CUP initial phase as authorized by Congress included diverting water from the Uinta Basin to the Bonneville Basin. This water would drop from Strawberry Reservoir through a series of hydroelectric power plants. The water and power would be used for irrigation, recreation, municipal, and industrial purposes. Starvation Reservoir was to be built to replace and furnish additional high-qual­ity water to the Uinta Basin. Strawberry Reservoir was to be enlarged and would serve to regulate this basin-to-basin diversion of water. The Bonneville Unit would produce enough kilowatt hours of elec­tricity to supply a city of 100,000 people for a year. By resolution dated 5 December 1977 the Uintah and Ouray Tribal Council requested that Leland Bench development be included in the Bonneville Unit. The Bureau of Reclamation could acquire land on Leland Bench for the Ute Indian Tribe and pump irrigation water from the Green River at Ouray up onto the bench. Drains would be installed to prevent the build-up of salts in the upper soil levels. Boating and fishing potential would be greatly increased and the muddy Green River below Flaming Gorge Dam would be trans­formed into a good clearwater stream for fishing. A CUP board was established including members from each par­ticipating county. The three members from Uintah County were L.Y. Siddoway, manager of the Uintah Conservancy District; Briant H. Stringham; and H. LeRoy Morrill. Three proposed dams were never built. Dead Man Bench Dam would have been constructed on the Yampa River, twenty-four miles west of Craig, Colorado, to provide water to lands on Dead Man Bench southeast of Vernal between the Yampa and White rivers. Split Mountain Dam would have been built at the head of Split Mountain Canyon on the Green River and would have backed water through Island, Rainbow, and Little parks to the third proposed dam at Echo Park. Echo Park Dam, to be located 3.5 miles downstream from the confluence of the Green and Yampa rivers in Colorado, two miles east of the Utah state line, would have created a reservoir that extended up the Green River sixty-four miles to Red Canyon and forty-four miles up the Yampa River to Lily Park. An insurmountable obstacle to the construction of both the Split Mountain and Echo Park pro­jects was that the proposed dam sites were located inside Dinosaur 320 HISTORY OF UINTAH COUNTY National Monument. In Uintah County defeat of the project was a bitter blow to many after over twenty years of work and expense. It was not easy for diehard supporters to accept the idea that Echo Park Dam would not be constructed; but it was a victory for the Sierra Club and other project opponents. Also, a proposed Green River pumping project was talked about but never planned. This project proposed pumping water from the Green River with lifts of about forty feet which could irrigate 11,000 acres of dry land and 1,000 acres of irrigated land between lensen and Ouray. Flaming Gorge Dam was the largest project undertaken on the Green River. It was first proposed by Utah Senator Reed Smoot in 1930 when he introduced a bill providing for the construction of a hydroelectric power project at Flaming Gorge. The project did not become a reality until 1956 when President Dwight Eisenhower approved a $760-million legislative act; funds were appropriated in 1958. The first bucket of concrete was poured on 8 September 1960. When completed, the dam towered 502 feet above bedrock and 455 feet above the original river channel. At full capacity, the reservoir is 436 feet deep and holds about 3.8 million acre-feet of water within its 375 miles of shoreline. Total cost for the project was $65.3 million, with $49.6 million for the dam and reservoir and $15.7 million for the power plant and switchyard. On 27 September 1963, two months before his death, President lohn F. Kennedy turned the switch which activated the first genera­tor to go into operation at Flaming Gorge Dam. First lady Lady Bird Johnson arrived in Vernal on 24 August 1964 to dedicate Flaming Gorge Dam, and in 1968 President Lyndon lohnson signed a bill establishing the Flaming Gorge Recreation Area, which included more than 200,000 acres of land and water in Utah and Wyoming.32 As part of the Vernal Project, a dam was built in Steinaker Draw to store water from Ashley Creek. Steinaker Reservoir, with its 34,000- acre-feet capacity, provides a supplemental water supply to 22,300 acres of cultivated land near Vernal. In addition to the dam, a feeder canal and a service canal also were built. In August 1958 when word was received that the $ 1 million appropriated for Steinaker Reservoir had been released a giant celebration was held. Steinaker Dam was WATER RESOURCES 321 completed in 1961 and work began on the feeder canal, which gave the construction crews many problems. The appearance of a hole thirteen feet in diameter on the north end of Steinaker Dam in 1966 did not threaten the safety of the dam, according to authorities, but it did threaten the peace of mind of people who lived below the dam. That problem was solved in 1990 when it was decided that the dam needed a $12.5-million reinforce­ment project which would prevent the dam from breaking in the event of an earthquake. The project was delayed for a year due to an ancient Indian graveyard being found while drilling test sites. Construction began in August 1993, but slippage was discovered by a Soil Conservation Service engineer when the dam was being refilled. The lake was drained during the summer of 1994, which caused a terrific hardship on area farmers who lost their irrigation water and had to rely on the spring runoff. After the lake was drained, the extent of the slippage was determined and the damage was repaired. The Jensen Project Red Fleet Dam on Big Brush Creek was orig­inally planned to store 6,000 acre-feet of water; however, because of increasing municipal and industrial needs, it was enlarged to 26,000 acre-feet. The site was moved downstream in order that a much larger dam could be constructed. The project provided sufficient storage to supply 3,600 acres of irrigated land with additional water and 800 acres near Jensen with the necessary water to irrigate. In 1970 it was announced that the Jensen Unit of the Central Utah Project was included in the 1971 budget to be sent to Congress by President Richard Nixon. Construction of the dam began in 1977 and the 145-foot-high, 1,640-foot-long earth-filled embankment was completed in 1980. Work included flood control, recreational facili­ties, and drainage ditches in the agricultural area to be served. The reservoir was first named in honor of the Tyzack family-Adair, Ed, and Herbert-who owned the property where the dam was to be built. The name was later changed to the more dramatic Red Fleet Reservoir because of the red cliffs in the area resembling a fleet of ships.33 Ute Indian reservation water rights were also included in the CUP project. In September 1965 the United States and the Ute Indian 322 HISTORY OF UINTAH COUNTY Tribe entered into an agreement in which the tribe relinquished its claims to reserved water rights on Rock Creek, thus freeing up approximately 60,000 acre-feet of water to be diverted and stored as a part of the Bonneville Unit. In exchange, the U.S. committed to use its best efforts to construct the Upalco Unit and the Uintah Unit for the Indians. These projects were intended to supply approximately 30,000 acres of new irrigable land to the Ute Tribe. The CUP went forward, but the Ute Indian projects were never built. In 1994 the tribal council presented a bill to the Central Utah Water Conservancy District for $33 million for the "unauthorized diversion" of tribal water "pending resolution of the tribe's water rights claims." Until the water compact is ratified, tribal leaders main­tain that the conservancy district does not have a contract for the water it is diverting from the reservation. The water question is also connected to a tribal dispute with the state of Utah over 2.9 million acres of land within the boundaries of the reservation. The tribal council has considered leasing water to California and other states in the lower basin of the Colorado River. The dams completed as part of the Colorado River Project have provided late-season irrigation water which was not available before and have opened new areas for agriculture. The story of water devel­opment has been a major theme in Uintah County's history during the past century. Efforts to settle unresolved issues, especially those relating to the Ute Tribe's water rights, will likely continue into the next century. Culinary Water The first people in Uintah County settled along the area's creeks and rivers, which provided a source of culinary water as well as irri­gation water. Some were fortunate enough to have a spring nearby which provided drinking water; others dug wells. The first settlers had an eye to the future and were concerned not only about water conservation but about contamination of drinking water. In 1896 the county court instructed the sheriff to notify owners to remove out­houses and corrals located where drainage flowed into canals or ditches used for domestic or culinary use. Owners who did not com­ply with this notice were prosecuted.34 Keeping children from play- WATER RESOURCES 323 • • • . . • • •yi--.--: •.-.- y:-. • Early wooden irrigation ditch built along Vernal's Main street. (UCLRHC collection) ing or swimming in the cool ditches in the summertime became a problem for the ditch riders. When the fort was built where Vernal now stands, a well was dug; but it could not be dug deep enough to obtain water, so water was hauled from a spring at 285 West 500 North or from the creek on 500 South. In 1880 the Central Canal was built; it carried water from Ashley Creek through town. In April 1908 the city council decided to line this ditch with wooden sidewalls. Most of the top was covered over with boards and bridges. Cleanouts were installed along the way and sticks were placed in the cleanouts to keep trash from clogging the wooden trench. In October 1908 it was decided to build a drainage ditch to the east which would be uncovered and up to five feet deep.35 That year was also the beginning of the Vernal City culinary water system. People would be able to have water piped into their homes for drink­ing and bathing; but to do this Vernal would lose its status as a city without taxation. The first tax was levied at eight mills on the dollar of assessed valuation of property; five mills would go for drainage purposes and three mills for a water system. It was estimated that this 324 HISTORY OF UINTAH COUNTY tax would generate $12,000 for the water system. This would not be enough to build the system, estimated to cost about $30,750, but would be enough to make a good start. It was not until 1910, how­ever, that the contract was let for the pipe for the system. The wooden pipe was of Oregon fir wound with wire, made by the Washington Pipe & Foundry Company of Tacoma. Cast-iron pipe had been con­sidered but was not feasible due to the high cost of freight. The trenches began with twenty-five men working at about two dollars per day. After a month of digging, trench diggers went on strike for a twenty-five-cent raise but were unsuccessful in their demands. It was stated in the Vernal Express on 22 April 1910 that the lines were installed on three streets, from Second East up First North, up Uintah Avenue (Main Street), and up First South street to the city limits; then another connection was made and the line went west up Uintah (Main) across the Central Canal, thence north to George Merkley's corner, thence northwest to the canal just above the intake of the old millrace. Plans were discussed to extend the water mains into the canyon to pipe the water directly from the springs there. For the time being, however, it was felt that water from the canal could be kept reason­ably pure and would be much better than the previous source of water, the open ditch. Investigation showed these hopes to be erro­neous, however, as several sources of pollution along the canal were discovered including a hog pasture containing fifty-seven hogs with wallows along the bank and two dead hogs lying in the ditch, a cattle corral built across the canal, and several dead animals along the canal bank. The most unusual thing found was a hen roost built over the canal in such a way that the place would always be clean of drop­pings. Some farms above the canal had no drain ditches, so all their drainage was going into the canal. Some of the people above the canal did not care what the people below them drank as long as their own water was good. The county commissioners and sheriff were called in to handle the health situation. Convincing some residents to remove these unsanitary conditions continued to be a problem the next few years. It was believed in 1911 that this contamination was polluting the water and was to blame for the local prevalence of typhoid fever. Since people were not following the commissioners' WATER RESOURCES 325 orders to clean up, county health officer Dr. G.B.M. Bower and his committee of Sheriff Richard Pope and George L. Goodrich stepped in to inspect the waterway and enforce laws regulating pollution.36 After the initial system was completed in 1910, lines were expanded out from the city limits to connect other properties with the system. In 1917 wooden pipe was added to the ditch from the Red Planer Mill on 500 West to connect with the pipe at 100 West. In 1917 a bond election was passed in favor of continuing the Vernal water system in Ashley Canyon to a point a mile above the mouth of Spring Creek. In May work began on installing redwood pipe in the Main Street lateral. A settling reservoir was built, and it was felt that the reservoir and the new pipeline would eliminate the red (dirty) water coming down the Vernal line. Gilsonite was placed around the galva­nized- wire wrapping of the pipe to protect it. By 1920 it was decided to continue the line farther up the canyon and to put in a new cement settling tank. In 1931 Vernal officials filed on the big spring in Ashley Canyon and changed the point of diversion to this spring, which would ensure a pure supply of water all year round. The old wooden pipe had deteriorated to the point that a big truck driving down Main Street broke through it at one point. In 1931 the city decided that cast-iron pipe would solve the problem of high repair costs on the wood pipeline, whose upkeep was becoming higher than the cost of interest on a bond issue to replace it with cast-iron pipe. Also bacte­ria was contaminating the water through the leaks in the wooden pipe. By bringing the pipeline directly out of the Ashley spring, the water would never see daylight until it came out of a water tap, and Vernal would have perhaps the purest water in the state of Utah. The first phase of work, replacing some of the six-inch wood pipe in Vernal City limits with two-inch cast-iron pipe, began in November 1931. It also was decided to change the main route of the line; but those living along the old route were not happy because lines would have to be run from the new main line to their homes at their expense. Replacement construction of all the wooden pipelines and mains within Vernal city limits occupied the summer of 1932 and 326 HISTORY OF UINTAH COUNTY continued in 1933. The old wooden stave pipe was purchased by a group of LaPoint and Deep Creek farmers who used the sections for irrigation purposes. The city had trouble selling bonds to raise enough money to take the main pipeline up the canyon; however, the replacement of the wooden pipeline through Vernal City with a cast-iron line was completed in 1935. Money finally became available to complete the water system through the federal projects that were part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. In 1935 it was decided to use twelve-inch cement pipe above the settling plant and for the flow line. A line was installed from 2980 West 1500 North and ran to the two cement stor­age tanks in the lower end of the field one-half mile east of Maeser School and three miles north of Vernal. The large tank was con­structed above ground and the smaller tank partly above ground. The water ran from here in a twelve-inch cast-iron pipe to the intersec­tion of Main Street and 500 West where it was connected by an eight-inch tee to a six-inch cast-iron line, which ran east on Main Street. The parallel and cross lines in Vernal which branched out from this main line were of four-inch cast-iron pipe. A water fountain was installed at the Calder Creamery at 760 North Vernal Avenue so people buying ice cream could sit in the shade and eat it with water available. Two drinking fountains were also installed in the center of Vernal by the Lions' Club in May 1935. One was located on the cor­ner in front of the Bank of Vernal, the other in front of the Uintah State Bank. By 1941 work on the line to Ashley Springs was well underway and included the improvement of Ashley Springs and a 500,000-gal-lon storage tank. A twelve-inch steel pipeline was installed under the Upper Canal to carry the water to the concrete tank. This steel pipe took a little different route than the cement tank. Work on the pro­ject was accomplished with the aid of WPA funds. When the project was completed, Vernal's water system was valued at over $100,000. Vernal's sewer system was also begun with federal funds and WPA workers. In July 1935 Maeser town incorporation was approved by the county commissioners. In 1936 the town of Maeser secured a WPA loan of $20,000 for a waterworks system. WATER RESOURCES 327 Many residents living in Uintah County were too far removed to use the water system, so wells had to be dug or water hauled from springs or canals. Water was hauled to fill cisterns, which were some­times buried underground or had devices to collect rainwater. The Moffat Canal provided the only culinary water for that area. It, like all new canals, had banks which were not settled or sodded with grass. Consequently, breaks occurred in the canal after storms. This was especially true of a long wooden flume northeast of Moffat which would be clogged with tumbleweeds after a wind storm. The ditch company eventually hired men to cut through rock and soil to eliminate this problem. The cut was fifty feet deep and about 250 feet long and took more than two years to finish. Before this the only way the settlers could use the water for laundering clothes was to fasten a split-open cactus on a stick and stir the water until it became clear enough to use.37 Despite these problems, other county residents looked at the suc­cessful establishment of water systems in Vernal and Maeser and sought to build their own systems. Tridell Farmstead Water System was organized in 1946; by-laws were compiled and witnessed on 4 May 1946. The system was set up for a fifty-family unit and was orig­inally intended for the middle and west dells. Some people were not initially interested, but after the work was underway the east dell also wanted to join the system, so the line was extended there and also to the Loren McKee dairy in the valley directly west of Twin Peaks. A federal loan for $32,000 for building the water system was obtained and bids for the pipe-laying project were opened in Vernal on 14 November 1947. Davis Morrill donated the land on which were constructed the buildings for the chlorination and storage tanks. Local people who worked on laying the waterlines were paid one dol­lar an hour.38 The Tridell-LaPoint water system later came about because of the need for a new water system for both communities. The old Tridell Farmstead Water System had become overloaded and worn out. LaPoint had a newer system but needed a more adequate supply of water for community growth. Because of the high cost of putting in a new system, the two communities decided to consolidate their efforts. The Tridell-Lapoint Water District was formed under the 328 HISTORY OF UINTAH COUNTY direction of the Uintah County commissioners with Loris Woolley, chairman; DeVon McKee, vice-chairman; Marvin Huber, Duane McKee, and Clinton Harrison, directors; and Clora Whitehead, sec­retary. After several years of planning and investigation by the water board, work commenced. Federal grants of approximately $750,000 were obtained for the project. The estimated cost of the new system was $1.2 million. Construction started in the spring of 1978. New lines were installed, a new treatment plant was built, and a diversion structure was constructed to divert water out of the canal. Construction was completed in the fall of 1979 with 285 connections. This new water system was one of the most modern water systems in the state of Utah.39 The Ute Tribe has operated a centralized raw-water production, storage, and distribution system since luly 1969. It provides signifi­cant quantities of culinary and potable water to the Indian and non- Indian communities on the reservation.40 Vernal City had begun its water system in the 1920s, and by 1947 a water line had been taken from Vernal City's line to Naples and Davis. In 1959, when Steinaker Dam was completed, money became available from the government for water projects and a valleywide water system was started. All local areas had their representatives under the Uintah Water Conservancy District, and Vernal City acted as the trustee. Vernal Unit CUP money helped to develop lines to rural areas of the valley. In 1979 four water districts-Ashley Valley Water and Sewer Improvement District, Maeser Water Improvement District, Ashley Water Company, and Vernal City Corporation-were divided out of the valley's water system. The people of Ashley Valley met and decided which areas should be served by each new district. Besides serving the Vernal City area, Vernal City Corporation also serves the Ashley Water Company on a contract basis. The Ashley Springs Water Treatment Plant, built by the Ashley Water and Sewer Improvement District, came on line in 1985. In 1986 the lensen Water and Sewer Improvement District contracted with the Ashley Valley and the Maeser districts to acquire water from the Ashley Springs treatment plant. lensen Water and Sewer Improvement District was formed separately from the Ashley valleywide water system in 1974.41 WATER RESOURCES 329 In 1985 the Maeser Water Improvement District agreed to share the cost of running the Ashley Springs Water Treatment Plant with the Ashley Water and Sewer Improvement District and in doing so also shared the spring water. In 1984 Vernal City had contracted with the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation to build a water treatment plant at Doc's Beach. This plant treats water from Ashley Springs and from Red Fleet Reservoir. The Ashley Valley Sewer Management Board announced in 1979 that a valleywide sewer system would be jointly built by Vernal City, Ashley Valley Water and Sewer Improvement District, and the Maeser Water Improvement District, with a sewer lagoon system about 3.5 miles east of Naples. At the present time, the sewer system includes some of the Davis and Glines areas and most of the Naples, Vernal City, and Maeser areas as well as a small portion of the Ashley area. The valleywide sewer system was estimated to cost some $7.2 million. The estimated connections, not including those of Vernal City, was approximately 1,500 connections. Of the estimated $7.2 million cost, some estimated $1.5 million was from connection fees, $2.7 million from bond elections, and the Environmental Protection Agency granted $3 million toward the construction of the valleywide sewer system and the sewer lagoon treatment site.42 Power Plants Water is also used to generate power. The county's first power plant was built in 1908 by the Vernal Milling & Light Company. It was located in Ashley Canyon, with Ashley Creek as the source of water to generate the power. Men with teams and plows worked under the supervision of Frank Siddoway. Frank and his wife, Ellen Young, lived at the plant and operated it for ten years. In 1908 the first electric lights were connected in Vernal. This company furnished power to area residents until 1925 when Utah Power & Light Company took over the operation. In 1938 when the valley needed more power than the Ashley plant could provide, the Utah Power & Light auxiliary generating plant was established on North Vernal Avenue at 500 North. Power was generated by a diesel plant, which provided the valley's electricity until the mid-1960s, when all the power for the valley was provided 330 HISTORY OF UINTAH COUNTY - " * * * - • w - * • • " *. ,\:y-i • • H I Ashley Canyon power plant in 1908. (UCLRHC collection) by the Castle Gate Power Plant at the mouth of Indian Canyon, which generates power with coal. Utah Power and Light Company served 8,450 customers at the beginning of 1995, 150 more than were served at the peak of the oil boom. Some major changes will tran­spire in the next few years in which first big industry, then commer­cial businesses, and finally residents may be able to choose which power company to purchase power from, much as residents now do with long-distance telephone service. At present, all power provided by Utah Power and Light for this valley comes from the Castle Gate Plant. Tridell and Lapoint received power for the first time in February 1940 from Moon Lake Electric Company, and lensen was serviced soon after. When President Franklin Delano Roosevelt announced the government appropriation of funds to construct power lines in rural areas in 1938, Shirley K. Daniels was listening to the radio. He immediately corresponded with the Rural Electrification Admin­istration (REA). A group of men was soon gathered to begin the organization of the new Moon Lake Electric Cooperative. During the summer of 1940 a survey and study were made, and it was estab­lished that people in the rural areas in Uintah County could be WATER RESOURCES 331 served. At the time Moon Lake Electric Association was being orga­nized, two similar organizations also were being incorporated. One was known as the Tabby Mountain Association and the other as the Western Uintah Electric Cooperative, with headquarters at Lapoint. It was recommended by the REA and thought advisable to consolidate these with the Moon Lake Electric Association, which was carried out on 7 April 1939. Moon Lake has since served all the rural areas.43 Flaming Gorge Dam and its hydroelectric power plant were com­pleted in 1964. The water and power generated from this plant are used in states all over the West. Beginning in 1981, it took four years to construct the $1.1-bil­lion Deseret Generation and Transmission Cooperatives' Bonanza Power Plant. The massive power plant was completed in September 1985. The plant was then tested and placed in commercial operation in 1986. The old Staley coal mine was purchased and new Deserado Mine facilities were built to provide coal for the plant. The coal is t r a n s p o r t e d to the mine on a specially constructed railroad. Water from the Green River is used for the operation. The plant supplies electricity t o 30,000 consumers in Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, and Arizona, with most of the consumers being rural residents. Water resources have been developed in Uintah County since the first settlers arrived. From the first ditches dug to the great Colorado River Project, residents have continued to look for ways to improve irrigation and to use county water resources as prudently as possible. ENDNOTES 1. lames H. Gunnerson, The Fremont Culture: A Study in Culture Dynamics on the Northern Anasazi Frontier, Papers of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, vol. 59, no. 2. (Cambridge: Harvard University, 1969), 137. 2. See loe Winder, "Uintah Stake Through the Years," a scrapbook located in the Uintah County Library Regional History Center. 3. Andrew lenson, "Mountain Dell Ward, Uintah Stake, Manuscript History," copy located in Uintah County Library Regional History Center, folder 271. 4. See Vernal Express, 7 September 1893 and 24 lune 1897; see also Dan Adams and Frank Watkins, interview with LaVern Adams. Another account taken from the records of O.D. Allen and Dan Adams and his children Arza, 332 HISTORY OF UINTAH COUNTY Lawrence, and Georgeanna (Curtis). Copies available in the UCL Regional History Center, folder 261. 5. Vernal Express, 10 December 1936. 6. Ibid., 18 lanuary 1945. 7. Neal Deets, personal interview with author, lune 1994, copy located in UCL Regional History Center. 8. Vernal Express, 16 December 1969. 9. Ibid., 13 December 1928. 10. George Long, "An Early Irrigation Project in Ashley Valley," man­uscript located in the Uintah County Library Regional History Center, folder 208. 11. Vernal Express, 10 March 1906. 12. Uintah County Court Minutes, Book 1, 43. 13. Vernal Express, 29 August 1935. 14. Information provided to author by Lawrence Siddoway, former manager of Uintah Conservancy District, and by Marvin lackson, who has worked with the water companies for years. 15. Uintah Basin Industrial Convention, "Our Indian Settlers," 31, copy on file at Uintah County Library Regional History Center. 16. Vernal Express, 6 lanuary and 9 lune 1906. 17. Ibid., 3 March 1906. 18. Ibid., 25 luly 1924 and 10 February 1928. 19. Uintah's Story (Vernal, UT: Uintah School District, 1947), 83. 20. Craig Fuller, "Land Rush in Zion," Ph.D. diss., Brigham Young University, 1990, 282. 21. Ibid., 269-309. 22. See Uintah County Library Regional History Center, folder 1318. 23. Vernal Express, 22 November 1894. 24. Charles DeMoisy, Ir., "Early History of Ashley National Forest," 5, unpublished manuscript, copy located in the Uintah County Library Regional History Center. See also Uintah County Court Minutes, 5 March 1889; and Deets, interview. 25. O.W. Israelson, "Irrigation Practice in Ashley Valley," Vernal Express, 12 December 1919. 26. Uintah County Court Minutes, 10 September 1891. 27. Ibid., 20 luly and 5 September 1893, Book 1, 149, 159-60. 28. A copy of the Dusenberry Decree is located in the Uintah County Library Regional History Center, folder 2114. It lists the percent each indi­vidual and company was allotted. WATER RESOURCES 333 29. Uintah's Story, 29. See also Inventory of the County Archives of Utah, Uintah County, 33 30. loseph G. lorgensen, Sun Dance Religion (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1972), 147. 31. Ibid., 147-54. 32. Vernal Express, 26 December 1968. 33. Ibid., 5 March, 13 August, 24 September, 15 October, and 13 December 1970. 34. Uintah County Court Minutes, 9 March 1896, 220 35. Vernal Express, 9 October 1908. 36. Ibid., 20 October, 3 November, and 24 November, 1911. 37. See Elsie D. lordon, Delivered from the Bottoms (Moab, UT: lordon, 1980), 10. 38. Sarah Helen Harvey Simmons, "The History of Tridell, Utah," 23, unpublished manuscript, copy located in the Uintah County Library Regional History Center; information was obtained from Ethel McConkie Goodrich. 39. Ibid.; Simmons received information for this segment from DeVon J. McKee. 40. See Ute Bulletin, 20 September 1994. 41. Information obtained by the author from Bert Pilling, Vernal City Water Department, Lawrence (Lanny) Kay of Uintah Engineering, Lawrence Siddoway, and Lyle McKeachnie. 42. Information provided to the author by Lanny Kay on 9 lanuary 1995. 43. Moon Lake Electric Association, 1987 Annual Report, provided to author by Russell Cowan.