| Show Big Sand Wash Reservoir r Finished After Problems in By BV Karl Chairman Uintah County Committee In the arid west water is the economic life blood of the small farming communities Water when available and applied to t o othe the fertile soil means growing and prosperous crops it means fat at and healthy cattle grazing upon lush pastures and moun moun- tain ranges it means that tax es Cs will be paid in the fall of the year to support the local school and road systems A PLENTIFUL supply of gation water means that a hun hun- hundred dred small towns with small stores ranging from the repair of shoes to the servicing of farm equipment will prosper and pro pro- produce duce a profit so that sons and daughters of the rural people reo re- remain main in their birthplace and have an honest and productive livelihood Water in the arid West is sought by men like the forty forty- sought gold in California Men have fought and died over overa a head gate directing a trickling stream of water down a dusty ditch IN EARLY Utah history in inthe inthe the Latter Day Saint Communities ties water distribution was plat ed in charge of the bishop of the ward hoping the Lord would give to him the necessary ration in his arduous task of equitable distribution of the available irrigation water Some years there are ample supplies of water in the State of utah Some years the winter snows and the spring and fall rains do not materialize and a n d drouth descends upon the land Drouth to the farmer means unpaid bills It means in most cases of the family farmer the necessity of disposing of his h i s livestock most often at depres sed and prices It means expensive equipment ly ly fag ing unused rusted in the sun TO THE FARMER drouth al so means watching a field of corn slowly die under the sear sear- searing ing heat beat of an August sun the leaves on the stalk curled tight ly shut the edges turning gray the tips of the leaf alrea already brown from the lack of mols- mols ture To the rancher who has not sold his livestock drouth means watching a Hereford cow des des- desperately in need of feed and wa wa- wa water ter her head bowed nearly tou tou- tou touching ching the ground her sides gaunt her back in an arc against the blaze of an afternoon sun an emaciated calf tugging at a teat in which no milk reo re- resides sides It means that an agonizing moment of decision must be forthcoming a decision as to whether or not to go further into the of crushing debt or to let the blood sweat tears and hard work which the ranch er has put forth in the past van van- ish i sh in one season through the process of mortgage foreclosure sure These are some of the condi occurring in the past which have been instrumental i f n spawning water storage projects throughout the West THE PIONEERS realizing that they must l ve a stable source of irrigation water built reservoirs which practice has continued up to to the present The projects were becoming g larger more expensive and ed as time went on and men became more adept anti and in handling water The year 1961 in general throughout the State of Utah was a drouth year It consisted of an open winter with litt 1 e occurring ill I Ithe the t h e mountains The spring was dry the spring rains cur as moisture in the upper atmos atmos- atmosphere phere is brought into Utah from the Gulf of Mexico or orthe the Gulf of California never did mater materi alize The storage reservoirs con c o n strutted during the preceding years and located high in the mountains never filed ely during the spring months AS THE SUMMER progressed in the Uintah Basin area of the State of utah precipitation be be- be became came a subject which one read about in n the newspapers but never actually encountered BY August water in the irrigation canals had become a trickle and crops withered and died the pastures had turned a dull brown under the blazing head bead of the afternoon sun These were the local climatic conditions which forced the Moon Lake Water Users into the development of Big Sand Wash Reservoir Res The Moon Lake Water Users consists of eight irrigation companies supplying water to farms with approximately acres This project sup sup- supplies plies storage water to the ma ma- majority of the farms in Duchesne County and many of the farms on the western si side e of Uintah County During 1962 the Moon Lake Water Users made prelim inary nary plans as to the possibility of constructing a reservoir of acre ft capacity at a site called Big Sand Wash located above the small town of Upalco The plans called for a dam ft in height consisting of cu of earth and rock In January 1963 Leo Haueter manager of the Association ask ask- asked ed the chairman of the Uintah County committee if he would go with him and contact the State committee as to funds which might be availS avail able for this project They were able one afternoon to meet at the State Office in Salt Lake City with the utah State Chairman Jesse Tut tIe a State Executive Director Glade Allred and Cliff Collings head of From these men they received ed every encouragement to seek funds in helping to finance this worthwhile project It was decided the best method would be to combine the efforts of the Uintah and Duchesne County initial cost sharing funds IN FEBRUARY 1963 the Uintah Counties met together Present were Wanless Shields Fred Lindsay and Lester Gard Gard- Gardner ner representing the Duchesne County Committee and Nathan Allan Duchesne County office manager Representing the Uintah Coun ty Committee were Karl Ross Snow and Glen Huber Lyle Taylor was serving as Uin Uin- Uin Uintah tah County office manag manager r Thad was acting as the farmer fieldman It was the unanimous decision of the two committees that Uin tah County would allocate of its funds Duchesne County would allocate of its fund and they would request from the State Reserve funds This would provide 60 in funds for the project The utah State Commit Continued on page 16 Sand Wash Continued from page 91 9 tee showing its encouragement for the project almost Imme committed its share of the necessary money Moon Lake Water Users contacted Utah Water and Pow er Board receiving an initial commitment of toward the project The Utah State Fish and Game Commission placed into the storage devel devel- development upon the commitment that the bottom 1200 a acre re ft of water would be maintained for fish culture at all times THE FUNDS for the construction tion were now available and in inJune inJune June 1963 bids were let for the construction of the dam the low bid amounting to The engineering firm of Todd and who designed the dam estimated originally that the cost would be The farmers were jubilant at time hoping to have the construction work completed at atI ata I a very low cost On July 1 1963 ground was wasI I broken and then the troubles seemingly started for the Moon Water Users Little Deer Creek a dam situ situ- situated situated on the mountain side high w above the Duchesne River re- re rei re I i suIting in the death of people and immense property damage THE STATE Engineers Of- Of Office Of flee fice and Bureau of Reclamation after this incident recommend recommend- recommended ed cd making several changes in inthe the original construction plans ot of BIg Sand Wash and increasing ing greatly the inspection dais dur- during ing the construction n The change in plans apparent ly invalidated holding the con can tractor to his bid This an in turn caused dissension be- be between tween the contractor and the board of Moon Lake Water Us Us- Us Users ers as to what was a fair price on the required r changes in construction Acrimonious debate arose be be- be between tween the two parties at various acmes times but finally under the able guidance of the utah Water and Power Board a solution was found Construction work then pro greased gressed rapidly and on Decem Decem- December I ber Iber 1 1964 the outlet gates were I closed the water storage was w a s started TODAY BIG Sand Wash Re is full waiting for the completion of the outlet canal so the stored water can be utilized during the summer season The final construction cost was which was above the engineers engineer's original es estimate Big Sand Wash Reservoir will not only supply supplemental water to an additional ac- ac ac res Fes on an exchange basis but it ft will also provide controlled flow to acres of ground Controlled flow means that the rapid fluctuations in the t h e amount of irrigation water in the can canals ls will be eliminated These stream fluctuations occur when the snow pack melts unevenly atthe at the higher elevations caused by cold and warm warm weather radia tion differences between night and day and differences i n cloud cover over the snow pack area RAPID fluctuations of the ir ir- ir water in the canal tern tem make efficient distribution an extremely difficult task It also causes increased costs to the farmers for ditch riding ser vices I BIg Sand Wash Reservoir will also be used for recreational purposes Part of the shore line and land adjacent to the project have been donated to the State of Utah They in turn are a r e constructing boat ramps and camping facilities Fish have been planted and it is anticipated ed that fh fishing hing and boating will willbe willbe be excellent on this man made lake during the future years Now v briefly back to and the problems involved in distri distri- buting to more than individuals these individuals be be- be being ing holders of variable amounts of water stock in eight different irrigation companies and each irrigation company holding diff diff diff- different erent amounts of Moon 1 Lake stock This tremendous task of pro pro- prorating rating the payment to the various shareholders fell upon the very shoulders ot of Mrs Wilson clerk clerk in Inthe the Duchesne County Of Of- flee fice CLIFF COLLINGS head of in the State of utah went to Washington to obtain small share cost increase to which each participant was now entitled led In December 1964 checks totaling were turned over to lisle Hale Holgate president of Moon Lake Water Users to apply a against a debt owed to the First Security Bank of Utah Big Sand Wash Reservoir will provide a higher standard of liv- liv living living ing for Cor the rural people in the surrounding area through more efficient utilization of their gallon gation water The recreational aspects o 0 f this storage project will bring tourists from the cities from other states to fish and boat Those tourists will help provide some of the supplementary in in- in income come needed badly by the rural peoples people if 11 they and their poster poster- posterIty Ity are to remain upon the farm |
