Red Butte: A Protected Watershed

Red Butte Canyon is located directly east of Salt Lake City and the University of Utah campus. Consisting of 7.25 square miles of watershed, it is the smallest canyon of the seven canyons in eastern Salt Lake County. Its elevation ranges from 5,000 to 8,000 feet about sea level. The pioneer settlers and later residents of Salt Lake City used water from Red Butte stream. During the early 1850’s Red Butte Canyon was considered as a source of red sandstone to construct the Mormon Temple. A wooden railroad was considered to transport the sandstone to the temple site, but the idea was abandoned in 1855, when it was decided to construct the Temple with granite located in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Today, the canyon is under the control of the US Forest Service and is managed as a protected “Natural Research Area.”

Early Water Rights

Red Butte Creek was an early water supply for the Mormon Pioneers. On July 9, 1853, the City Council passed an ordinance creating the office of Water Master. The duties consisted of overseeing the construction and repair of gates, locks and sluices as necessary to admit into the City the water from City Creek, Red Butte and Emigration canyons and to divide the water throughout the City to best serve the public interest for irrigation, domestic and other purposes.

City Council minutes indicated that Brigham Young was granted permission to use excess water from Red Butte. In 1858, the City Council and Mayor Smoot, granted use of excess water from both Red Butte and Emigration Canyons for his mill and instructed the watermaster to turn the surplus water down to the mill.

On October 26, 1862, Fort Douglas was established by a garrison of volunteer troops under the command of Colonel Conner. These troops used the waters of Red Butte Creek for domestic and irrigation purposes. The Army constructed ditches and a reservoir to supply its domestic needs and irrigation of gardens and grounds.

The diversions of water by the garrison affected three thousand Salt Lake City residents located in the First and Fourth Municipal Wards who used Red Butte creek as their water supply.

The following spring a Grand Jury presented to the United States District Court for the Third Judicial District of Utah Territory a statement of fact that the watercourse or stream called Red Butte was conducted into the City for the use of its inhabitants and 3,000 citizens depend entirely upon this water for irrigation, culinary and drinking purposes.

That on or about October 20, 1862 the California Volunteers established a military encampment and built stables, yards, corrals and diverted the water from its channel through the yards built for their animals and have built privies on or near the stream and thus polluted the water so badly that the 3,000 citizens downstream could not use it for any purpose including irrigation since it was filthy. (The first and fourth municipal wards included the area between Third and Thirteenth East, and South Temple to Ninth South Street)

Again in the spring of 1864, a Grand Jury petitioned the Third District Court with the same complaint, but no action seemed to have been taken to remedy the situation. Later records would show that in August 1864 the gardens and orchards of the First, Twelfth and Thirteenth Wards were ruined due the lack of water attributed to the loss of water from Red Butte since none of the water reached the cultivated city lots.

Apparently, Salt Lake City officials conceded to the federal government and decided that the power of the army was superior to the rights of Salt Lake City.

On September 3, 1867, President Andrew Johnson by Executive Order, withdrew 4 square miles including Fort Douglas, from the public domain for military purposes.

The issue of ownership of the water rights in Red Butte was resolved on February 11, 1890. The District Court of the Third Judicial District, Territory of Utah, held that the United States "... is the owner of and entitled to the use for military, domestic and other purposes of all of the waters flowing and to flow in that certain stream of water known as Red Butte Canyon Creek... and is entitled to the use of the same and the whole thereof, unimpaired in purity and quality," and enjoined certain defendants from polluting or depleting the waters.

Between 1887 and about 1909, the United States, by various Acts of Congress, Executive Orders, and purchases, enlarged the reservation to encompass more of the watershed of Red Butte Creek for the purpose of protecting the water supply of Fort Douglas.

On February 5, 1988 the United States filed a “Water Users Claim” with the State Engineers Office, claiming that since October 26, 1862, the Army has used whatever water was necessary to supply Fort Douglas from Red Butte Creek without regard to any other rights that may exist in Red Butte Creek. The United States claims first priority to use of the waters of Red Butte Creek to the extent of 821 acre feet by physical seizure and adverse user and possession prior to 1939 as set forth in the Water User's Claim No. 57-7699.

Another Water User Claim further states:

On November 30, 1954, the Utah Water and Power Board assigned all water rights evidenced by Application No. 18653 to the United States. The United States claims diligence rights to 453-acre feet of the waters of Red Butte Creek with a priority of October 26, 1862, as set forth in Water User's Claim No. 57-7700. The United States claimed reserved rights to 821 acre feet of the waters of Red Butte Creek and its alluvium with a priority of September 3, 1867, for culinary, municipal and irrigation uses, for the operation and maintenance of Fort Douglas as set forth in Water User's Claim No. 57-7701.

Modern Water Deliveries

In order to meet the requirements of the Safe Drinking Act, Pl.53-523, the Army hired the Engineering firm of Templeton, Linke and Alsop to conduct a feasibility study in 1982 to determine if the Army should construct a water treatment plant to meet the Fort's drinking water needs. The study showed that it was not cost effective for the Army to construct a water treatment plant, and subsequently the Fort connected to Salt Lake City's municipal water system. In order to serve the Fort and the University of Utah it was necessary to construct a 5 million-gallon distribution reservoir in Red Butte Canyon. The reservoir was completed in 1985. It was jointly funded by the University of Utah, Fort Douglas (United States) and Salt Lake City. The Fort's chlorination facility and distribution reservoir were abandoned.

Red Butte Dam

In 1928 it was suggested that the City join with the federal government to build a reservoir in Red Butte Canyon. It was proposed that the City would have access to the surplus water developed by constructing the dam and reservoir. Apparently, the joint project was rejected, because as the work began in 1929, the purpose of the dam was specified as for serving all government properties of the east bench and would be fed by federal government water rights. In 1930, the Army completed construction of Red Butte Reservoir at a cost of $350,000 and moved its points of diversion on Red Butte Creek upstream to Red Butte Reservoir. Red Butte Reservoir has an active storage capacity of 385-acre feet.

On March 22, 1990 the US Forest Service ordered Red Butte Dam water level be lowered to a point 35 feet below the bottom of the spillway until the safety of the dam could be determined under current standards. With the closure of Fort Douglas, the army sought interested local government entities to transfer the dam and water rights to. According to the Salt Lake Tribune on March 22, 1998 “The Army has abandoned a small reservoir in Red Butte Canyon east of Salt Lake City, claiming it no longer is responsible for the 68 year-old structure.” As of this date the final disposition of the dam and water rights has not been determined.