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Show November, 1944 steep drainage basin, careful management of the steep basin slopes is of the essential to the well-bein- g as a result valley dwellers. Largely of the behavior of the Centerville watershed, in comparison with that of six neighboring watersheds, the Wasatch Branch Experiment Station was established by the Forest Service to more intensively study the problem of watershed management. The experimental area comprises several thousand acres with permanent streams which make up a great outdoor streamflow laboratory. Town Protects Water Going on and here is something again which marks Centerville as outstanding in its water program the town, having taken good care of its mountain water supply, in 1935 embarked on a program to improve and protect its ground water. Many of the farms and orchards were dependent upon wells which were slowly drying up. A flood control dike constructed by the Forest Service on the hillside above the town was used THE CENTERVILLE NEWSETTE steep drainage basins, much of the winter and spring streamflow has little value because the demand by users is low at these times, and consequently water runs to lakes and sloughs. To prevent such waste, Centerville stores its surplus water underground, and evidence indicates that much of it is recovered through wells in the valley. The evidence for this lies in the fact that some wells that never produced artesian water are now yielding flows. Other wells low down in the valley have had their flow increased materially over that of the highest period since their This underground development. storage minimizes the natural annual fluctuation in the water table. Water Storage The average amount of water stored per season in the Centerville hillside reservoir is 500 acre-fee- t. This year, however, the amount is near 700 acre-fee- t. Considering the average annual storage, the project conserves about the total annual flow of the Centerville Creek, which is one-four- th of Page Three loss may be no greater than from evaporation and seepage from surface storage reservoirs and canals. At the time Centerville town applied to the State Engineer for permission to divert the surplus flow from Centerville Creek into the water spreading system, it was decided that the permit should be issued to Wesley E. Tingey, president of South Davis Stake of the L. D. S. Church, as a disinterested representative of all of the peo- ple of Centerville. Filing on this surplus water was a very wise move for it gives the old primary water-righolders control of the stream, thus complete preventing acquisition by any other parties that might prove unfavorable to the best interests of the ht community. Like most communities in Utah, Centerville in 1934 saw the drought hit the town with full force. But unlike many other communities, the leadership of this settlement reacted with surprising vigor and from those years of water shortage came additional results of coopera- tive community action. Community Well The towns share of the canyon water which is used in the municipal supply system was husbanded with care, but still there was not enough for the normal needs of its people. The residents hauled water in barrels to keep their shrubs alive and tide them over the drought. The need for water became more and more urgent, more and more demanding. It was then that the government instituted a drought-reliprogram. communities were Although many eligible for help, only a few with initiative to get started and tenacity to stay with the project secured ef wells. Centerville was one of these. It sank a well from which flowed into the arteries of the town lifesaving water. The well cost $5,000 but is worth approximately $13,000 when evaluated on the same basis as water from ap-proxim- Shown inspecting the stream inflow to the underground storage spreading basin above Centerville, are Henry Cleveland, Mayor Wallace Walton and Burt Randall basin to develop a to get surplus winter and spring water into the ground. The resulting artificial lake perched on the mountain side 1000 feet above the town is more than 2,600 feet long water-spreadi- ng and approximately 20 feet wide. Storage of water underground, such as the people of Centerville are doing, as a means of increasing artesian and gravity wells is unique in Utah but is used very extensively in parts of California and probably at other places. In the absence of natural reservoirs on many The in excess of 2,000 acre-fee- t. initial investment in this project by the town was $1,500. Labor probably worth twice that much was contributed by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The annual costs, including interest at 6 percent on the cash outlay only, and maintenance is only $200. This represents a storage cost of only 50 an extremely cents per acre-foo- t, low figure. Of course, there are pumping costs where there is no artesian flow. Then, too, some of the water is not recovered, but the tely the creek. Benefits of the well, however, aside from its monetary value, have been unlimited. It made possible he development of the town cemetery, the development of the town park, and the removal of the water-shortafear from the inhabitants of the town. The well is not run continuously but is maintained as a supplementary water supply. The well water has its origin on the mountain watershed just as the stream water does, but it flows into the valley below the ground ge surface rather than above it. |