Dear
Watermasters & Schedulers,
What
a difference a year makes! From feast to famine.
I
figured that an update letter would be good to catch everyone up, and to touch
bases with you on our schedule and procedures.
First,
Strawberry Water was first delivered on April 23, 2012. This is one of the
earliest delivery dates in recent history. Central Utah Water Conservancy
District has been working on the Sleeve Valves in Sixth Water since October of
2011. Many problems were encountered and the valves that were removed are still
not operational at this time. One valve is in place and should be available for
service this week. In the mean time, water is being delivered from the old
Strawberry Tunnel. Delivery from the Strawberry Tunnel is restricted to 200
cfs. Today, May 1, 2012 we are delivering 160 cfs. One Sleeve Valve will
deliver at least 350 cfs. It is anticipated that we will be able to deliver
over 500 cfs combined between the old Strawberry Tunnel and one Sleeve Valve at
Sixth Water this irrigation year and we will be in good shape. However, until
the Sleeve Valve is in and operational, we are in a bit of a pickle. Hopefully
that will change by this weekend.
Our
storage in Strawberry Reservoir is absolutely full. We have a full 61,000 acre
foot allotment, and a full 50,000 acre foot “Bank”. The “Bank” is to allow us
to save water in times of plenty and then be able to utilize that water in
times of shortage. It makes sense to use some of the banked water this year.
Also,
Central Utah Water Conservancy District has made it known that those that have
leased CUP water will be able to draw as much as 20% more water than their
contracted amount, this year only.
These
factors should help with an upcoming difficult year. As usual, please be
vigilant in managing the water in your canal company. Let your appropriators
know of the lack of natural flow in the river systems this year and encourage
them to plan accordingly. Maintaining ditches and head gates to conserve water
is critical.
