KNOWLEDGE: RIVER AND WATER projects in Cache Valley Portal to reports

 

PORTAL TO REPORTS AND ANALYSIS 

about two worthy public works projects that negatively impact the Logan, Utah, the Island, the Great Salt Lake, and east Cache Valley area between Hyde Park and the Logan River 

The Logan River Watershed Project and the Logan Culinary water project (water tank) must do more to 

honor public rights, preserve landscapes, limit landslides, enhance our greenbelt of parks, maintain open flow of >>5 cfs of natural river water and restore winter water to Logan, Utah’s rivers and Island area.

By Dr. Susanne Janecke

Updated July 2025

Return to this information portal

Tinyurl.com/savellr 

Main points: 

+Public rivers and our best parks are entitled to protection by law yet current plans of the Logan River Watershed Project to upgrade outdated irrigation infrastructure and reduce storm floods (worthy goals) unnecessarily threaten the open flow of natural river water year-round in the Little Logan River. 

+The necessary upgrades could be designed to preserve and enhance the public’s rights along the Little Logan River.  Current plans favor irrigators and developers and minimally honor the public’s rights to the river’s many public benefits and amenities.

+The Great Salt Lake needs water from the Logan River more than lawns and landscapes. Its current status is EXTREME ADVERSE!

+Plans of the Logan River Watershed Project for the natural river in the heart of our community impact almost a dozen public spaces. Sponsors promise so little open-flowing water in the Little Logan River that it might become a trickle choked with algae or dry out completely as droughts continue.

+There is no guarantee of flowing open river water in our historic river.  Therefore, the current complete desiccation after the irrigation season might expand into the irrigation season.

+Rivers do not grow algae unless their flow is dialed down to an unnatural trickle, forming stagnant reaches. 

+We discovered an algae problem in the Little Logan River arising in part from mismanagement in winter. (Field trips on request). Algae is also a worrisome problem in piped canals.

+Preserving the open flow in the Little Logan River and restoring its winter flow does not preclude an overdue and successful rebuild of outdated irrigation infrastructure and upgrades to reduce flooding.

+Unused river water could be leased to the Great Salt lake.

(INFORMATION in this document about ALGAE is collected into one document here. CLICK TO VIEW A photo album documenting algae choking public waterways near walking trails, in parks, along university running tracks, and throughout our community.  A formerly magnificent fountain in the USU SPACE DYNAMICS LAB is also struggling with algae.  Testing for toxic algae is ongoing.)

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CONTENTS:

There are three topics in the reports and analysis compiled below:

1. Little Logan River is under threat from the Logan River Watershed Project:  Reports are clickable at blue text.

2. The Great Salt Lake is collapsing and its desiccation is mostly a man-made disaster in our region. The continued unhealthy condition of the lake is an economic, environmental, and health threat to our entire region. Reports are clickable at green text.  See also 

3. A culinary waterline project along Canyon road has the potential to increase natural landslides in Logan Bluff by unnecessarily undercutting its unstable slope and adding water.  Mitigating such landslides is very expensive, often unsuccessful, and can be avoided by rerouting the waterline under Center Street.   Reports and analysis are clickable at the purple TEXT.

100 years old trees do not need to be removed if a safer, less dangerous, less risky route is chosen. That route could save money, property, and potentially lives in the long run. Reports and analysis are clickable at the purple TEXT.

4. Most infrastructure projects could be reconfigured to a win-win, with modest improvements and more public input. (SKIP to more rivery information)

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CANYON ROAD CULINARY WATERLINE PROJECT:

Report about how the Canyon Road water tank project has potential to increase landslide frequency and severity, while removing old trees. Alternate ROUTE of pipe would be less expensive and safer than a future landslide.  

Evidence that the Canyon Road Waterline might exacerbate many dozens of landslides in Logan Bluff .  Experts mapped over 40 young landslides.

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GREAT SALT LAKE:

Reports about the Great Salt Lake are GREEN 

The Great Salt Lake is collapsing: Overconsumption is THE main reason but a megadrought is worsening the condition of the lake. The lake can be saved with policy changes.

More information about the Great Salt Lake. It needs every extra drop.

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PLEASE see ACTION ITEMS below

RIVER TOPICS-Summary

Short summary presentation June 10, 2025, with action items: tinyurl.com/savellr 

KEY RIVER ISSUES: 

Sponsors have long claimed that the Little Logan River is only a canal or ditch. More than 8 types of evidence and many hundreds of legal documents prove that the river is primarily a natural river that also conveys irrigation water to canals. 

The public owns all of the water of the Little Logan River and water users have a right to use some of that water during the irrigation season.  The public also owns the land under the river and some of its banks.

“Erroneous” classification as a canal deprives the historic natural river of many legal protections at state and federal level.

Plans appear to deprive Great Salt Lake of EVEN MORE WATER during its extremely adverse conditi0ons!

Plans appear to be extremely costly (household min fees of $350-760/year) and disruptive to our communities

Possibility of trivial open flow of river water could choke the Little Logan River with algae, as happened along 3 recent rebuilds completed in our communities by JUB engineering.  

Complete desiccation is also possible.

Little Logan River has started to be plagued by algae due to unpermitted winter diversion of its water south into the main branch of the Logan River.

Strong and consistent public desire to preserve and enhance our natural river appears to have had minimal impact on LRWP.  Ask for details.

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What can you do?  See below:  

Sadly, citizens are not able to vote directly for or against the Logan River Watershed Project but we CAN vote for members of city councils, mayors, and water boards. 

August 12th primary is very important for this reason.

PLEASE VOTE for River-friendly candidates

ACTION ITEMS:

Get informed. There are detailed reports at the portal TINYURL.COM/SAVELLR  

Let the Logan, North Logan, and Hyde Park City Council, Mayors, and all candidates know that you are unhappy/that plans to upgrade infrastructure along the Little Logan River is also unnecessarily:

1. managing our public river water primarily for irrigators, 

2. Appears to skirt the protections due the Little Logan River in Utah code 73-3-29

2. Encouraging homeowners to use river water currently flowing to the GSL to water lawns,

3. capturing river water to favor future sprawl and development.

4. This project mostly benefits canal companies, irrigators, and developers. 

RECALL: 

The rights to use the river water does not void the public’s rights to its ownership of the river water, which is flowing across land owned by Logan City and the public.  

See Utah code 73-3-29 which uses 4 criteria to evaluate changes to rivers. Public interests are in items 1-3.:

Following the comment period, Division staff will assemble all comments, conduct any further analysis and evaluate your application by the following criteria: 

1. Will the project unnecessarily or unreasonably affect any recreational use or the natural stream environment? 

2. Will the project unreasonably or unnecessarily endanger aquatic wildlife? 

3. Will the project unreasonably or unnecessarily diminish the natural channel’s ability to conduct high flows? 

4. Will the project impair vested water rights? 

If the answer to all of these questions is NO, then your application will be approved. 

Current plans of the LRWP appear to violate the first three criteria.

MORE ACTION ITEMS:

Contact representatives of the Cache Water District about the same topics.

Contact all law-makers, decision-makers, & candidates.

Comment when the Environmental Impact Statement appears later this year.  There will be a short window of opportunity for comments.

Photographs of algae clogging the Little Logan River, April 2025, during winter months.  Alanna Nafziger photographer. Springs supply a trickle of wintertime water to local low-lying parts of the river bed. SEVERAL FACTORs, including diversion of river water into South Branch of Logan River, lead to this algae.

CLICK LINKS to access 8-9 informative reports about projects that impact our community in Cache Valley, Utah

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Rivery reports are (BLUE) 

Please advocate for the natural and historic rivers in our community.  They should be protected but sponsors have been able/attempting to sidestep protections by claiming that the river is ONLY a canal or a “ditch”.

Little Logan River: An urban jewel, its history, threats and detailed information (this document). Households would pay >>$360-760 per year JUST to be included in the secondary water system.  The river is a river and ~8 kinds of data prove it.

Do you want to learn more? See:

The High and Dry plan for the Little Logan River was an attempt to industrialize and take over a public river 

Understanding how the Logan River Watershed Project will impact our community, Logan Rivers and the Great Salt Lake using QUESTIONS 

Historic photographs and maps documenting the Little Logan River’s long celebrated history in our community 

Evidence that the Little Logan River is a natural and legal river-an entire talk .

Frequently asked questions about the Little Logan River. 

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A powerpoint presentation with about 3-55 minutes of information is below.

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Worrisome lack of reassurance–over many years- RAISES KEY QUESTIONS about plans along the Little Logan River.  

Key questions for sponsors- that remain unanswered despite almost 9 years of planning:

 1. WILL the entire current riverbed: 

BE INTACT?  

STAY CONNECTED TO LOGAN RIVER forever?

and preserve or enhance most of its trees and natural features?

2. Since the LLR has no guarantee of minimum summer flow levels in published project plans, it could become

1. completely desiccated in the summer in our 10 public places and along > 5 miles of the river bed owned by the public,

2. or the river could have a trickle of nearly stagnant water that is likely to be choked by algae in our hotter and hotter summers. 

3. Three water projects rebuilt by JUB firm are currently choked by ALGAE.  (Field trip available on request)

4. Algae has started to grow in the Little Logan River ITSELF in Jens Johansen park during the winter months.  This would be avoided if the river’s entire natural flow were no longer diverted out of the river bed. No permit allowed this winter diversion to begin in the 1990s.

3. Prior plans to remove the Crockett Diversion structure would have made it challenging to restore the river to full year-round natural waterway. 

This “hidden” plan was discovered by us and was in place as late as Oct 2024. That is almost 5 years after the unanimous public asked for the river to be protected with open natural flow. Threats of a lawsuit apparently changed the plan to a better one. (Ask for details)

4. What else is being planned to prevent restoration of WINTER FLOWS?   …to degrade the public’s natural river?  To deprive the public of its rights to this incredible river?

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 How do we know that the Little Logan River is a river, and not only a canal as sponsors usually claim (10 ways)?

1. Geology proves it is a river.  Meandering forms naturally in streams, not in canals.

2. Hundreds of legal documents all refer to the river as a river.  Deeds for land AND water right documents all show ownership along the North Branch of the Logan River, the older name of the river.

3. Historic maps show the Little Logan River existed before Logan was settled by pioneers.  The North Branch of the Logan River was included on the oldest map, whereas the South Branch was omitted in 1856.  Canals cannot exist before canal builders arrived in 1859.

4. The federal government knows the Little Logan River is a perennial river along its entire length and at least two agency databases show it to be a perennial river.

5. The Utah Division of Wildlife classifies the Little Logan River as a coldwater fishery and perennial stream.

6. Permits to the State Engineer show that Logan City and the State of Utah both knew the Little Logan River is a river.  Check in 2009 and 2012.

7. Writings of citizens, historians, and officials consistently refer to the Little Logan River as a river.  

8. The entire bed of all rivers, including the entire Little Logan River belongs to Logan City. The land under the river was transferred to the city at statehood by the federal government. Cities are much less likely to own land under canals.

9. Cache County labels the little Logan River as a natural river in its databases.  Update summer 2025.

10. Rivers are modified by humans on a worldwide basis and modified rivers are not transformed and reclassified as canals. If this logic were used, the main Logan River south of Logan’s Island would be a canal because it was straightened and incised far more than the Little Logan River.

1. Does it matter that the river is a river?  YES!!!!! 

Rivers are protected by Utah code 73-29-3.  Their recreational aspects, environment, and ecology, aquatic species are protected as long as water rights are not impacted too badly. Federal law also protects rivers.

FIELD TRIPS: suggestions at blue arrows

Figure Waterbudget. Snapshot map showing the complex water budget along the Little Logan River in mid summer 2024 This map shows 4 sections of the Little Logan River,  Field stops at each blue arrow will familiarize you with the river's many amazing features. IF you only have time for two stops, be sure to visit River Hollow And Merlin Olsen Parks, and compare them in both summer and winter. Stop 1.  River Hollow Park shows the most original part of the river and one that has been desecrated with a 400 foot long concrete liner. Stop 2. Merlin Olsen Park shows the trickle of water allowed to flow there. Stop 3.  LLR along 100 west. Walk east to see its lovely features in the middle of our city! Stop 4 a and b.  A. Fairgrounds.  The river is low flow here. B. The LLR becomes a mere trickle south of the red canal.  See it in Willow Park Water budget in map view. Measured and estimated. Measured and estimated river flows August 8, 2024. Map showing how the two natural rivers in Logan Utah differ markedly due to management by canal companies. The South Branch of the Logan River is fairly natural in wet years, like 2024. The North Branch has variable flow rates when it is allowed to carry water during the summer irrigation season.  Flows of water shift between low (thin blue line) and high (thicker blue lines) along the North Branch of the Logan River. This is due to complex sets of diversions and return flows along a river that is being managed as if it were a canal, instead of a natural and historic river that also conveys water to canals.   Much more complex flow patterns are being measured by Dr Neilsons’ research group at Utah State University.  This simplified graphic of the water budget is intended to compare and contrast the high water and low water parts of the Little Logan River. Flows are from gages and from simple field-based estimates along the North Branch of the River east of 3rd West.  Discharges in the South Branch and West Sections are educated guesses.