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Romney Applauds Provo River Delta Restoration Project Milestone

$10 million in funding secured by Senator Romney during Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act negotiations

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) applauded the major milestone reached in the Provo River Delta Restoration Project. The Provo River is now being diverted into channels and ponds—constructed over the past few years—connecting the River with a restored delta and Utah Lake. During negotiations of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Senator Romney secured $50 million for the Central Utah Project Completion Act. Of that funding, $10 million was allocated to the Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission specifically for the Provo River Delta Restoration Project.

“It remains essential that we continue to use our water resources in a way that’s appropriate and responsible to help our state maintain the vitality and quality of life that Utahns have long-enjoyed for many generations to come,” Senator Romney said. “This milestone in the Central Utah Project—the diversion of Provo River to connect it with a restored delta and Utah Lake—will help support habitat recovery for the threatened June sucker and ensure that our local communities have access to safe and reliable water sources.”

“Turning the Provo River into the re-created delta is a huge step forward in the effort to recover the threatened June sucker,” said Central Water Conservancy District General Manager Gene Shawcroft. “The Delta project has been a long time coming and when completed will open the bottle neck that has been holding the June Sucker Recovery Implementation Program back from the final steps of successfully re-establishing all June sucker life cycles. The Delta will provide the opportunity for successful spawning, rearing and recruiting of new June suckers. The Central Utah Water Conservancy District has been a leader in the June sucker program from its inception and continues to serve as a program partner and a Joint Lead Agency in the Provo River Delta Project.”

“The delta restoration project has amazing environmental impacts like keeping the June sucker fish off the endangered species list. I also love the improvements to the area that invite recreational opportunities to all ages,” said Utah County Commissioner Brandon Gordon.

Background:

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provided a historic investment in the country’s physical infrastructure, included substantial provisions to help Utah fulfill its critical water needs, provide water to the nearly half of Navajo Nation in Utah who don’t have running water, and prepare for and respond to wildfires.

Senator Romney secured $50 million in funding for the Central Utah Project Completion Act (CUPCA), $10 million of which was allocated to the Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission for the Provo River Delta Restoration Project, in the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Romney later secured an additional $23 million for CUPCA in the December 2022 government funding bill.

Authorized in 1956 under the Colorado River Storage Project Act, and enacted by Congress in 1992, CUPCA moves water from the Colorado River Basin in eastern Utah to the western slopes of the Wasatch Mountain range, where the state has seen a rapid growth in population. It provides water for municipal and industrial use, irrigation, hydroelectric power, fish and wildlife, conservation and recreation.

The Provo River Delta Restoration Project facilitates habitat recovery for the June sucker, a federally listed threatened fish species unique to Utah Lake, and helps safeguard reliable water supplies for local communities. More information on the can be found here.