History of Development
Beryl-Enterprise Area
Underground Water 1920 to 2008
HISTORY OF DEVELOPMENT
The use of underground water in the Beryl—Enterprise area prior to 1920 was limited to domestic and stock watering with the water being provided by wind power and manual pumps to lift the water to the surface. By the 1930's the turbine pump had been developed which provided the means to efficiently lift larger quantities of water from the underground to the surface to be used for the irrigation of crops. The estimated use of water annually from 1860 to 1920 was approximately 2500 acre feet. By 1930 the total annual estimated withdrawal of water had multiplied four times to a total estimated annual withdrawal of approximately 10,000 acre feet.
The underground water law requiring the appropriation of water from the underground was adopted by the Utah State Legislature and went into effect on March 22, 1935. The new law required anyone desiring to use water from underground sources follow the same procedure as required by the Utah Water Law for surface water passed by the Utah State Legislature which went into effect in 1903. Prior to the enactment of the underground water law the only requirement was to drill a well and place the water to beneficial use.
During the early development of underground water, ground water hydrology was not understood. As development proceeded additional data was collected which indicated there was a close connection to the surface water sources. With limited knowledge of the underground aquifer system and the connection to surface streams, the State Engineer approved more filings than the basin would support and maintain safe yield. The Beryl—Enterprise area was one of those areas in the State of Utah that appeared to have an abundance of water in the underground system. History has shown that the area was over appropriated causing a steady decline in the water table.
During the 1930's and early 1940's, applications to appropriate water from the underground aquifer in the Beryl—Enterprise area were filed and approved which when developed proved to exceed the safe yield of the underground basin.
The large majority of the development occurred following the end of World War II. The amount of development and the withdrawal of large quantities of underground water to supply the needs of irrigated acreage resulted in gradual decline of the static water level in the underground aquifer.
The State Engineer recognized that more applications had been approved than could be supported under the safe yield concept. As a result the State Engineer placed a moratorium on approvals of any new applications to appropriate water from the underground basin. In addition the State Engineer placed a time limit on the already approved applications to complete development of the approved uses. The cutoff date for development was December 31, 1959. Since that. time there has been no new development of additional acreage.