Utah State Water Plan: West Colorado River Basin (SWP-10)

By: Division of Water Resources

The West Colorado River Basin is located in south-central Utah. It covers nearly 9.8 million acres which contain large variations in topography, climate, soils and vegetation. Elevations range from 11,530 feet to about 3,700 feet with precipitation ranging from more than 30 inches to less than 8 inches. Growing seasons in agricultural areas range from 163 days at Green River to 88 days at Loa. The geologic parent materials provide a wide variety of soils producing vegetation from alpine conifer forest complexes to mostly desert shrubs and grasses

The West Colorado River Basin contains some of the nation?s finest natural scenic areas including Capitol Reef National Park and portions of Bryce Canyon National Park, Canyonlands National Park. Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (Lake Powell) and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Three national forests and eight state parks are also located within the basin boundaries.

This State Water Plan provides a foundation and direction to plan for and encourage the best use of its water resources. The purpose of this plan is to identify potential conservation and development measures and projects and to describe alternatives to alleviate the problems, needs and demands of the local people.

Other Information:
Published: 2000
Location: Carbon County, Emery County, Garfield County, Kane County, Sanpete County,Utah County, and Wayne County
Media Type: Paper Publication