Summary of Snyderville / Park City Area Public Meeting

A public meeting was held at 3:00 p.m. Thursday, September 10, 1998 at the Park City High School to discuss water management issues in the Snyderville / Park City area. Presentations were given by William (Bill) Schlotthauer on the State Engineer's interpretation of the US Geological Survey water resource study (Technical Publication 115). Frank Ashl and reviewed the hydro-geology report (UGS Open-File Report 337) and cited several examples o f the stratigraphic ground-water compartments. Jerry Olds discussed issues related t o development of a water management plan for the basin.

Following the presentations, Bob Morgan, State Engineer, stated that eff ective immediately the water administration policy of the Snyderville / Park City basin would be as fol lows:

• Exchange/change applications which transfer water rights from outside the basin would no longer be accepted. This includes exchange applications for 1.0 acre-feet or le ss considered under the previous policy;

• Change application based on existing water rights used within the basin wo uld be considered on their individual merits. In reviewing these applications the criteria provid ed for in Section 73-3-3 and 73-3-8 will be considered along with the historical water use and depletions, an d the potential effects on intervening and downstream water rights;

• To insure proper distribution of the water and to protect downstream water rights, the State Engineer is directing the Weber River Water Commissioner to actively regulate th e diversion of water within the Snyderville / Park City area. Surface and ground water right s will be distributed jointly by their priority date;

• In approving future change/exchange applications the applicants will be re quired to release their return flows to the drainage from which the water was diverted. This requ irement will affect those rights which divert water near the drainage divide between Silver C reek and East Canyon Creek in the Park City area; and

• In acting on applications, the State Engineer will consider the effects on the natural stream environment and the other criteria under 73-3-8, as applicable.

In an attempt to give interested parties the data and information availa ble on the water resources of the Snyderville / Park City area, the following documents were supplied at th e meeting:

• Hydrology and snowmelt simulation of Snyderville Basin, Park City, and adj acent areas, Summit County, Utah, 1998, Technical Publication 115,

• Selected Hydrologic Data for Snyderville Basin, Park City, and Adjacent Ar eas, Summit County, Utah, 1967-95, 1996, Open-File Report 96-494;

• Fact Sheet - Water Resources in Snyderville Basin and Park City in Summit County, Utah;

• Water rights priority schedule, an estimate of potential diversions and de pletions, September 1998 (draft).

During the question and answer portion of the meeting, several questions were asked or comments made about the sewer system and the impact on the area's water resource s. Generally, those in attendance supported the policy of not allowing additional 1.0 acre-fee t exchange applications to be transferred into the basin. One question was asked about wat er rights with late priority dates acquired to provide water for domestic purposes. If the priority of such a water right does not provide water every year, can the underlying water right be "disc ounted" to provide a firm water supply?

The State Engineer asked the water users to submit comments on any of th e data and information presented at the public meeting. If anyone has suggestions on issues that shoul d be considered in the proposed water management plan, they should submit them in writing. A follo w up meeting will be scheduled in six to eight weeks to discuss the development of a proposed water management plan.