History of the
Utah Lake Commission
Utah Lake is a precious resource to the residents of Utah Valley. Over the years, there have been multiple issues that have created concern over the lake, its health and viability. In recent years, various interest groups and parties have approached local Mayors, County Commissioners, and other elected officials regarding a host of Utah Lake related issues. As such, these elected officials were seeking additional information from expert sources for a wide and varied host of topics, including:
- Water quality and ecology,
- Dredging and other methods for reducing evaporative loss,
- Appropriate methods for re-establishing endangered or threatened species,
- Proposals for transportation enhancement including possible crossings of Utah Lake,
- Options for recreational access and promotion,
- Ownership boundaries and protection of private and public property rights,
- Management of water levels and protection of private and public water rights,
- Shoreline development and preservation,
- Public perception.
Good information was generally available for most topics, but it seemed that little or no work had been undertaken on other topics. It was impressive to learn how many different parties were involved in, interested in, or working on an issue relating to Utah Lake. In some cases, we found strong disagreement between experts or various stakeholder groups, etc.
After numerous discussions in successive meetings, in the early Spring of 2004, the membership of the Utah County Council of Government (COG) voted to form the Utah Lake Study Committee. The committee held its first meeting on March 4, 2004 and immediately voted to create a technical sub-committee comprised of various individuals with technical expertise.
From that point, the Study Committee met almost monthly. It extensively toured the entire shoreline and surface of the lake, and worked closely with various State officials, interested private entities and others.
In the fall of 2006, after much careful and lengthy deliberation and study, the membership of the Utah Lake Study Committee unanimously adopted a draft Interlocal Agreement that proposed the creation of the Utah Lake Commission. It solicited many comments and feedback from interested stakeholders during a forty-five day public comment period about the contents of the document and structure of the proposed Commission.
After incorporating much of the feedback into the document, all of the municipalities of Utah County, State agencies, and the Central Utah Water Conservancy District were invited to participate in the Commission.
Concurrent Resolution 1 (CR1) was sponsored by Representative Stephen Clark authorizing the participation of various State partners in the Utah Lake Commission. It was signed by Governor Huntsman on March 9, 2007 at a ceremonial signing at Utah Lake State Park.
The first official meeting of the newly-formed Utah Lake Commission occurred on April 19, 2007.
The first priority of the Commission was to create a master plan for the lake. After a thorough selection process, URS Corporation was chosen as the consultant to work with the Commission and its members to create the Utah Lake Master Plan. The planning process began in February, 2008. A draft plan was completed in February, 2009 after numerous meetings with the Commission's Governing Board, Technical Committee, and subcommittees, as well as a series of public open houses designed to inform and solicit ideas for incorporation into the plan. The plan was formally adopted and signed on June 26, 2009 at the Utah Lake State Park. Senator Robert F. Bennett was in attendance and expressed his support for our collaborative effort in managing Utah Lake.
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