LOWER GREEN RIVER - AREA 92

Updated: April 15, 2002

DESCRIPTION:        This area extends from northern Grand County in T16S, along the east side of the Green River to the northwestern corner of San Juan County in T30S and the confluence with the Colorado River.  The major stream in this area is the Green River.  This area is bordered on the north by the Uinta Basin, on the east by the Colorado River drainage, and on the west by the Green River.  The highest point in the area is the 9,450 foot Nutter Peaks in the Book Cliffs, while the lowest is at the confluence of the Colorado and Green Rivers at about 3,780 feet, giving a total relief of about 5,670 feet.  Click here to see a map of the area.

MANAGEMENT:     A Proposed Determination of Water Rights book (Lower Green River Division) was compiled and published in 1978.  No pre-trial or final decree has been issued.  There is no state-administered distribution system in this area.  Because this area is part of the Colorado River basin, the conditions of the 1922 Colorado River Compact, the 1944 Mexican Treaty and the 1948 Upper Colorado River Compact and the State Engineer's Colorado River Policy apply.  Applications to appropriate or change water are subject to conditions dealing with Green River Endangered Species Protection. Click here to see statistics for this area.

SOURCES:
SURFACE WATER - Surface waters of the area are considered to be fully appropriated.  New diversions and consumptive uses in these sources must be accomplished by change applications filed on owned or acquired rights.  Applicants are placed on notice that development should be pursued as soon as possible, and requests for extensions of time in which to file proof will be critically reviewed after an initial five year period.

GROUND WATER - There are some limited ground-water resources available.  Permanent applications for isolated springs and underground water are generally limited to sufficient acre-foot amounts to serve the domestic purposes of one family, the irrigation of one acre, and a reasonable amount of stockwatering in areas where water is not available from a municipal or subdivision supply.  Change applications altering the source from surface to underground, or vice versa, are considered on their individual merits, with emphasis on their potential to interfere with existing rights and to ensure that there is no enlargement of the underlying rights.  Fixed-time and temporary applications are evaluated in a similar fashion.  Applicants are placed on notice that development should be pursued as soon as possible, and requests for extensions of time in which to file proof will be critically reviewed after an initial five year period.

GENERAL:                Applications are advertised in the Moab Times Independent.  The general irrigation diversion duty for this area, which the State Engineer uses for evaluation purposes, is 5.0 acre-feet per acre per year.  The consumptive use requirement is determined from the publication Consumptive Use of Irrigated Crops in Utah, Research Report 145, Utah State University, 1994, unless the applicant submits other data for consideration.  This area is administered by the Southeastern Regional Office in Price.

REFERENCES:         Technical Publication No. 15, Water from Bedrock in the Colorado Plateau of Utah; Utah State Engineer; 1966.

MODELING:            None.