Utah Lake Drainage Basin Water Delivery System

The Utah Lake Drainage Basin Water Delivery System (ULS) is the final component of the Central Utah Project, completing a complex network of dams, reservoirs, pipelines, and tunnels designed to transport water from eastern Utah’s Colorado River Basin to growing communities along the Wasatch Front, from Salt Lake City to cities in Utah County.

The ULS consists of buried pipelines beginning at the terminus of the Diamond Fork System near the mouth of Diamond Fork Canyon in Utah County. From there, the system runs through Spanish Fork Canyon to the western side of the Wasatch Mountains, where it branches north and south to deliver water to Central Utah Project (CUP) customers. At full delivery, the system supplies 101,900 acre-feet of water annually for municipal, industrial, and irrigation use.

Spanish Fork Canyon Pipeline
The Spanish Fork Canyon Pipeline connects to the existing Diamond Fork Canyon Pipeline at the Spanish Fork Flow Control Structure at the mouth of Diamond Fork Canyon. The pipeline follows U.S Highway 6 down Spanish Fork Canyon to near its intersection with U.S. Highway 89. The pipe is installed in the existing Highway 6 right-of-way. At the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon, the pipeline connects to three pipelines near the Highway 89 intersection: 1 )Mapleton-Springville Lateral, 2) Spanish Fork Canyon-Santaquin Pipeline, and 3) Spanish Fork Canyon-Provo Reservoir Canal Pipeline.

Mapleton-Springville Lateral Pipeline
The Mapleton-Springville Lateral (MSL), originally a Strawberry Valley Project facility, has been replaced with a modern pipeline, now part of the Central Utah Project’s Bonneville Unit. This new 5.7-mile pipeline conveys an average of 8,831 acre-feet of Strawberry Valley Project water annually to the Mapleton and Springville Irrigation Districts, replacing the former open-ditch system. Beginning at a connection with the Spanish Fork Canyon Pipeline, the MSL extends north through Mapleton and Springville, Utah. Turnouts along the pipeline, sized to match existing canal infrastructure, deliver water directly to local irrigation customers. In addition to supporting agricultural needs, the pipeline also delivers CUP water to Utah Lake via Hobble Creek to aid in the spawning and recovery of the endangered June sucker fish.

Spanish Fork Canyon - Santaquin Pipeline
The Spanish Fork Canyon – Santaquin Pipeline will connect to the Spanish Fork Canyon Pipeline at U.S. Highway 89 about 0.8 miles north of the Highway 6/Highway 89 junction and run along the adjacent Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way south to the city of Santaquin in south Utah County. CUP customers in southern Utah County will receive water from the pipeline through approximately eight planned pipeline turnouts.

Spanish Fork Canyon - Provo Reservoir Canal Pipeline
The Spanish Fork Canyon - Provo Reservoir Canal Pipeline is constructed from the Spanish Fork Canyon Pipeline along U.S. Highway 89 north through the cities of Mapleton, Springville and Provo, Utah and discharge into the Provo Reservoir Canal, a Provo River Project feature. The pipeline is constructed entirely within existing road rights-of-way. The pipeline continues north to connect with the Jordan Aqueduct, an existing CUP facility. CUP water is delivered to North Utah County and Salt Lake County customers via these combined facilities.

Santaquin - Mona Reservoir Pipeline
The Santaquin - Mona Reservoir (SMR) Pipeline will connect to the Spanish Fork - Santaquin Pipeline and continue along the Union Pacific Railroad alignment south to Mona Reservoir in Juab County. The SMR pipeline is planned primarily to provide water for a conservation pool in Mona Reservoir for the benefit of the endangered June sucker fish.

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