ESCALANTE RIVER - AREA 97
Original Posting: April 2, 2002
Updated: April 2, 2002
DESCRIPTION: Extending from T30S in the north to T42S in the south, this area is located
in eastern Garfield and northeastern Kane Counties. It encompasses the
drainage of the Escalante River and a number of intermittent streams
which empty into Lake Powell. It is bounded on the west by the Sevier
River and on the east by Lake Powell. On the north is the Dirty Devil
River basin and on the south is the Kaiparowits Plateau. The highest point
is at about 11,300 feet, on Boulder Mountain, while the lowest point is at
the shore of Lake Powell at 3,700 feet, giving the basin a total relief of
about 7,600 feet. Click here here to see a map of the area.
MANAGEMENT: There are three court decrees in this area covering surface water: the
Boulder Creek Decree, the Escalante River Decree, and the Deer Creek
Decree. Water rights in this area were compiled into three Proposed
Determinations of Water Rights. The Boulder area book was compiled in
1967, while the Escalante and supplemental books were done in 1969. A
pre-trial order was issued for the Boulder book in 1975 and for the
remaining books in 1977. Because this area is tributary to the Colorado
River, the provisions of the 1922 Colorado River Compact, the 1944
Mexican Treaty, and the 1948 Upper Colorado River Basin Compact
and the State Engineer's Colorado River Policy and the State Engineer's
Colorado River Policy apply. There are no state-administered water
distribution systems in this area. Click here to see statistics for this area.
SOURCES: SURFACE AND GROUND WATER - Surface waters, except for isolated
sources, and ground waters with a direct connection thereto, are
considered to be fully appropriated. New diversions and uses involving
surface waters must be accomplished by change applications based on
valid existing water rights. Fixed-time projects involving surface waters
must be accomplished by temporary change applications on valid existing
water rights, which require annual renewal. Change applications
proposing a change from surface to underground sources, or vice versa,
will be critically reviewed to assure hydrologic connection, that there are
no enlargements of the underlying right(s), and that there will be no
impairment of other rights. The State Engineer believes there is some
unappropriated water available in the aquifer system and in isolated
surface sources. In this area, domestic filings, limited to the requirements
of one family, the irrigation of 1/4 acre, the watering of 10 heads of
livestock (1.73 acre-feet), or an equivalent amount for other uses, are
individually reviewed for potential interference with existing rights, and
some have been approved.
Applications are generally approved upon a showing of immediate need
for water and with the presumptions that the applicant has all the necessary
resources and authorities to diligently develop the proposed beneficial use
of water and to file proof. Typically, a period of five years is allowed for
full development with extensions of time granted only under unique
circumstances clearly beyond the control of the applicant
These small filings are not available in an administratively closed area or
in the agriculturally developed area around the city of Escalante. This
closed area includes the following (Click here to see a map of this special
area):
T35S R2E Sec. 1 S 1/2
Sec. 2 All
Sec. 11 All
Sec. 12 All
R3E Sec. 4 SW 1/4
Sec. 5 E 1/2 & SW 1/4
Sec. 6 S 1/2
Sec. 7 All
Sec. 8 All
Sec. 9 W 1/2
Sec. 16 All
Sec. 17 All
Sec. 18 E 1/2
Sec. 19 E 1/2
Sec. 20 All
Sec. 21 All
Sec. 22 S 1/2
Sec. 27 All
Sec. 28 All
Sec. 29 All
Additional developed areas with adequate public or municipal water
systems may also be considered for closure upon a petition from local
water users and pending proper investigations by the State Engineer.
GENERAL: Applications are advertised in the Garfield County News and the Southern
Utah News, dependent upon the county in which the water is to be
diverted. The general irrigation diversion duty for this area, which the
State Engineer uses for evaluation purposes, is 4.0 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 Southwest Regional
Office in Cedar City.
REFERENCES: Technical Publication No. 15; Water from Bedrock in the Colorado
Plateau of Utah; Utah State Engineer; 1966.
Technical Publication No. 81; Groundwater Conditions in the Kaiparowits
Plateau Area, Utah and Arizona, with Emphasis on the Navajo Sandstone;
Utah Depart of Natural Resources; 1986.
Technical Publication No. 84; Groundwater Conditions in the Lake Powell
Area, Utah; Utah Department of Natural Resources; 1986.
Basic Data Report No. 41; Selected Hydrologic Data, Kolob-Alton-
Kaiparowits Coal Fields Area, South-Central Utah; Utah Department of
Natural Resources; 1983.
MODELING: None.