High Mountain Dams in Upalco Unit, Central Utah Project, Mountain Home, Duchesne County, UT

Significance: The first decades of the 20th century clearly demonstrated that the existing irrigation system was inadequate to meet the agricultural needs of all Uinta Basin farmers. Not surprisingly, Mormon farmers and the United States Indian Irrigation Service moved quickly to impound the mountain runoff which flowed through and out of the Basin each Spring. The mountain waters were stored behind small earth-fill or masonry dams and then released during the hot growing season. The majority of the dams allowed farming to continue through brief periods of drought while the larger structures facilitated further agricultural settlement in the Basin. These dams marked the culmination of early irrigation efforts in the Uinta Basin.
Survey number: HAER UT-42
Building/structure dates: 1920 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1951 Subsequent Work