Ashley Franscell, Daily Herald file photo

Since 1862, the Provo Bench Canal & Irrigation Company has been providing canal service for open irrigation to farmers and landowners in the Orem and Lindon area. North Union Canal & Irrigation came shortly after. That arrangement is soon to change.

Orem’s urban irrigators received a notice from Lindon city explaining potential changes concerning irrigating.

“Please be aware that Lindon City is contemplating changes to how it uses its shares in Provo Bench Canal & Irrigation Company and North Union Canal & Irrigation Company. It may affect water flow and usage in the companies’ canals,” reads the letter.

For many years, these canal companies have provided secondary water to Lindon City. Beginning in 2023, Lindon City is considering making a connection to the Provo River Aqueduct (PRA) and filing a change application with the state engineer to divert its canal company shares into the PRA. Once this connection is complete, and the change application is approved, Lindon City will receive their secondary water from the PRA and will have less water utilization in the North Union/Provo Bench Canals, the letter stated.

The letter included a a brief history of water in the area by Sheri Murray Ellis, natural resources program director for SWCA Environmental Consultants.

James Roh, Daily Herald file photo

“The North Union Canal is a more than 9-mile long irrigation canal located in the communities of Orem, Lindon, and Pleasant Grove in Utah County, Utah. The canal begins at a diversion on the Provo Bench Canal (sometimes referred to as the Big Bench Canal), which draws water from the Provo River near the mouth of Provo Canyon and travels southwest to 1000 East and Palisade Drive in Orem to a diversion structure. The North Union Canal begins at this diversion, crossing through the community of Lindon and continuing north into Pleasant Grove. The Provo Bench Irrigation Company operates and maintains the Provo Bench Canal from the diversion on the river to 800 North in Orem. The North Union Irrigation Company manages the canal north of that point,” the letter reads.

Lindon City is one of the major users and shareholders of the North Union Canal and the planned change may affect the future viability of flows in the North Union and Provo Bench Canals.

Lindon City must seek permission from the Board of Directors of both the Provo Bench Canal & Irrigation Company and the North Union Canal & Irrigation Company before they file for the change application. The boards may impose conditions on the change applications to protect the shareholders who continue to use the’ canals.

Currently there are about 100 water users between the two companies, affecting the majority of people who continue to open irrigate in Orem.

The letter includes a list of suggestions for those using open irrigation:

• “Continue using water as a shareholder and operating the canal without Lindon as a user knowing that potentially less water may be flowing in the canal, which may impact the other shareholders.
• “Sell your water shares and/or water rights on the open market. There are multiple water conservancy districts offering to buy these shares. There are water brokers, municipalities, builders, and other private individuals also interested in buying these shares. If you decide to sell your shares, please shop around for best asking price and best situation that works for you.
• “Submit ideas and options for the board and shareholders to consider.”

Lindon is proposing to tap water from the Provo River aqueduct to maintain six miles of open ditches with the water ending in the Lindon irrigation ponds.

The impetus for much of this change is the upkeep of the aging canals that could cost into the tens of millions of dollars, according Juan Garrido, Lindon Public Works director. It is also designed to fulfill the wish of Gov. Spencer Cox who, last year, asked cities to start major water conservation efforts.

Right now, those using open canals in Orem are seeing garbage, broken bottles and other items being thrown into the ditches. That trash goes to Lindon with the end users potentially not getting any water. The canals are seeing 75% less water in existing ditches.

Reed Price, maintenance division manager for Orem, said flood irrigation is ineffective and that one option for Orem irrigators is to use the city’s culinary water in a drip irrigation method. Lindon uses secondary water to irrigate.

The cost for Lindon to tap into the Provo River Aqueduct is about $1.1 million, a much cheaper way of getting water without the cost of canal upkeep.

“We held a shareholders meeting and Lindon will build the tap this fall and start taking water so farmers can see what will happen through the canal,” Garrido said.

According to Garrido, the complete change won’t happen until 2025. Price said Orem is in favor of the changes, as were most of the stakeholders.

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