Canal's title is transferred

PLEASANT GROVE — The Murdock Canal moved one crucial step closer to being enclosed Tuesday as officials signed documents to begin transferring title of the structure from federal to local control.

Legislation enabling the transfer of the canal title from federal to local hands was signed into law late last month by President Bush. It was sponsored by Rep. Chris Cannon and Sen. Bob Bennett, both R-Utah.

Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner John Keys called the title transfer one of the fastest he has ever seen.

"This is one of the few that we've been able to get done in one session of Congress," Keys said. "Cooperation between the agencies is what made it go so smoothly."

The title transfer was needed to enable the The Provo River Water Users Association to apply for low-cost, non-federal loans to pipe the open canal. The association will now oversee the creation of a joint public agency to take over ownership of the canal. Association general manager Keith Denos said he expects that process will be completed in a few years.

"In order to enclose the canal, we still have a lot of work to do," Denos said. "We have to make sure that the public entities can get their capacity rights in their own names to access funding, and legally, that's going to take a lot of work. I think there are probably a couple of years' worth of work in that arena before we get to the design and construction of the enclosure project."

Cannon said the project will be a large one from several perspectives.

"This project is going to be a very, very big project, first from the point of view of getting enough water to the growth areas, particularly in Salt Lake County, and also from the point of view of safety and recreation," he said.

Four people have drowned in the open canal since 1998, and Cannon said one important benefit from enclosure is increased safety.

"Clearly, when the opportunity to do the title transfer arose, and all the benefits became clear, one of the great benefits was the safety benefit," Cannon said. "There's a long history of terrible tragedies there that won't happen any more."

Enclosing the canal will not only improve safety but also reduce significant loss of water through evaporation and seepage. The Central Utah Water Conservancy District has agreed to help fund half of the project in exchange for the use of some of that additional water, partly to preserve the June sucker, an endangered fish native to Utah Lake.