How Utah’s Transbasin Diversions Bring Colorado River Water to the Wasatch Front
Around 90% of Utahns live in the Great Basin, where transbasin infrastructure pulls water from the Colorado River Basin across the Wasatch Mountains. The system supplies just over a quarter of the water used in Salt Lake, Utah, and Wasatch counties, according to Utah State University, sustaining major urban centers and agricultural economies along the Wasatch Front.
Engineering the Mountain Crossing
A drop of water that would otherwise flow down the Duchesne and Green rivers into the Colorado instead begins a western journey through over 100 miles of tunnels, pipelines, and diversions. The Central Utah Project forms the backbone of this network. The Upper Stillwater Dam, standing 200 feet high in Duchesne County, captures snowmelt from the Uinta Mountains to feed the system. Dylan Dastrup, Stillwater area manager with the Central Utah Water Conservancy District, oversees the facilities owned by the federal government and operated by the district. Water moves primarily by gravity rather than energy-intensive pumping, following a slight downward slope through tunnels like the 8.1-mile Stillwater Tunnel before reaching collection points such as Strawberry Reservoir.
In 2024, combined transbasin diversions brought around 165,000 acre-feet of water into the Great Basin, accounting for around 15 percent of Utah’s total Colorado River consumption that year, according to the Upper Colorado River Commission. Alongside the Central Utah Project, the Provo River Water Users Association and the Strawberry Valley Project also move water across the basin divide for farms and cities in Heber, Kamas, Sandy, Orem, and Utah County.
Low Snowpack Reduces Strawberry Reservoir Runoff
The Colorado River Basin has experienced a sustained drought for over two decades. An abnormally warm winter in 2026 produced a historically small snowpack and dismal runoff. Troy Ovard, area manager with the water district, noted that while a typical year brings about 100,000 acre-feet of water through the system into Strawberry Reservoir, just over 37,000 acre-feet made it through during the recent dry cycle. Jared Hansen, manager of the Central Utah Project, described it as the worst of his 36-year career. The district has buffered the shortage by banking water in Strawberry Reservoir, which remains around three-quarters full.
Infrastructure Expands as States Dispute Water Rights
Infrastructure expansion continues despite the dry conditions. The Central Utah Water Conservancy District recently finished a four-mile pipeline in southern Utah County to deliver Colorado River water to additional municipalities, including Santaquin and Salem. At the same time, the seven states sharing the Colorado River remain locked in negotiations and disputes over shrinking supplies. Because the Central Utah Project holds a 1964 water right, it operates as a relatively junior user. Amy Haas, director of the Colorado River Authority of Utah, warned at a water users conference that if litigation or dispute resolution forces Utah to curtail its Colorado River usage, the resulting reduction could prove hugely disruptive to the Wasatch Front.
