People for Wise Water Planning Papers, 1979-1994

Overview of the Collection

Creator
People for Wise Water Planning (Cache County, Utah)
Title
People for Wise Water Planning Papers
Dates
1979-1994 (inclusive)
Quantity
12 boxes, (6 linear feet)
Collection Number
UUS_COLL MSS 304
Summary
This collection contains the papers of People for Wise Water Planning and spans the period from 1979 to 1994. These papers are organized by file name and include meeting minutes, correspondence, legal papers, working files, publications about the water conservancy district (WCD) debate, a log of newspaper clippings that follow the evolution of the PWWP's actions, papers concerning the forgery of signatures by pro-WCD individuals, and other related materials.
Repository
Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives Division
Special Collections & Archives
Merrill-Cazier Library
Utah State University
Logan, UT
84322-3000
Telephone: 4357978248
Fax: 4357972880
scweb@usu.edu
Access Restrictions

No restrictions on use, except: not available through interlibrary loan.

Languages
English

Historical NoteReturn to Top

In 1989 a group of local residents in Cache County, Utah organized People for Wise Water Planning (PWWP), an organization which opposed the creation of a proposed water conservancy district (WCD) in Cache Valley. PWWP was officially organized on February 23, 1989 with Alice Lindahl as director, Karen Fisher as secretary, and Stephen Flint as treasurer. PWWP opposed the creation of a Cache WCD for various reasons, including that the PWWP did not believe there was water crisis in Cache County, it saw no need for the county-wide boundaries advocated by the WCD, believed that the WCD would not solve any present or future problems but instead would cause environmental damage, the WCD would have the power to increase taxes, and that WCDs, in general, were undemocratic and unaccountable to the people they purported to represent and serve.

Once the PWWP was officially organized its members printed and distributed flyers, sent out monthly newsletters, attended and spoke at city council meetings, wrote letters-to-the-editor of local newspapers, staged protests, and engaged in other similar acts to oppose the formation of the district. The PWWP also hired a lawyer to combat the formation of the WCD.

A WCD in Utah is created by collecting signatures of property owners. Each taxing district – cities and unincorporated areas – need a certain percentage of signatures that equals a certain percentage of taxable property. In order to defeat a WCD district signatures of property owners must also be collected, but must equal a greater amount of the taxable property than those in favor. Once enough signatures had been obtained to create a district those opposed had only a limited time to gather enough signatures to defeat the district.

On Dec. 6, 1989 the Herald Journal reported that those in favor of creating a Cache WCD had obtained the needed signatures to begin officially organizing the WCD and later that week the Cache County Council voted to endorse the formation of the Cache WCD. However, the organization of the WCD slowed in response to criticism by Cache County Attorney Gary McKean, who stated that he would not give legal council to the pro-WCD organizers because WCDs, although legal institutions, were not led by democratically elected officials ( Herald Journal, 22 Jan. 1990).

Throughout the following months the PWWP gathered signatures in opposition to establishing a WCD. In early February 1990 Representative Evan Olsen, R-Young Ward, filed House Bill 389 which sought to increase the number of signatures opposition parties needed to halt the establishment of a WCD. However, after coming under intense criticism, the bill was withdrawn by Olsen at the end of February.

Finally, in the summer of 1990, Judge Gordon Low dismissed the pro-district petition because the petitioners changed the proposed WCD boundaries after the petition had been submitted.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

This twelve-box collection contains the papers of People for Wise Water Planning and spans the period of 1979 to 1994. These papers consist of the office files of PWWP and have been organized alphabetically by file name. Included in this collection are PWWP meeting minutes, correspondence, legal papers, working files, publications about the WCD debate, a log of newspaper clippings that follow the evolution of the PWWP's actions, papers concerning the forgery of signatures by pro-WCD individuals, and other similar materials.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.

Permission to publish material from the People for Wise Water Planning Papers must be obtained from the Special Collections Manuscript Curator and/or the Special Collections Department Head.

Preferred Citation

Initial Citation: People for Wise Water Planning Papers USU_COLL MSS 304, Box [ ]. Special Collections and Archives. Utah State University Merrill-Cazier Library. Logan, Utah.

Following Citations:USU_COLL MSS 304, USUSCA.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

Arranged in alphabetical order.

Processing Note

Processed in June of 2006

Acquisition Information

The materials in this collection were donated to USU Special Collections by Brad Cole in 1994.

Bibliography

Source:
Brad Cole , June 2006.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Files of PWWP, A-B, 1979-1990Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 1
Ad hoc committee file
undated
1 2
“Alternatives to Water Conservancy Districts,” papers, notes, legal documents, and other
undated
1 3
“Alternatives to Water Conservancy Districts,” papers, notes, legal documents, and other continued
undated
1 4
Answering service
undated
1 5
Apple, Jeffery W., attorney from Salt Lake City, file prepared by Apple for the PWWP
1991
1 6
Attorney file, meeting drafts
undated
1 7
Attempts to add names
1991
1 8
Bagley, Jay M., essays and statements
1979-1990
1 9
Bagley, Jay M., file
undated
1 10
Box Elder County
undated

Files of PWWP, B-E, 1980-1994Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
2 1
Bonneville Bench Study
1990
2 2
Central Utah Project
undated
2 3
Central Utah water conservation district, reports
undated
2 4
Correspondence
1980-1994
2 5
Correspondence and mailings
1980-1989
2 6
Correspondence and papers
1980
2 7
Court documents, protests
undated
2 8
Double signers petition
undated
2 9
Editorials
undated
2 10
Endorsement add
undated

Files of PWWP, F-L, 1988-1989Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
3 1
Forgery material, general
undated
3 2
Forgery material, Jimmy White
undated
3 3
Forgery material, Tooele County
undated
3 4
Forgery material, Uintah County
undated
3 5
Forgery material, verifications
undated
3 6
Fund raiser
undated
3 7
Frank Haws write-ups
undated
3 8
Hoggan interrogatories
undated
3 9
Holmgren’s water seminar
undated
3 10
Hubner reports
undated
3 11
In/out problem
undated
3 12
Incorporation papers of PWWP
undated
3 13
Iron County WCD
undated
3 14
IRS/STC
undated
3 15
Jenny Christensen Show – Crosstalk
1988
3 16
League of Women Voters of Utah, papers
undated
3 17
Legislature
1988
3 18
Legislature
1989
3 19
Letters to the editor
undated

Files of PWWP, L-N, 1976-1991Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
4 1
List of petition signers
1990 March
4 2
“Local Consequences of Reclamation Overkill,” by A. LeBaron and K. Wilde
1976
4 3
Logan City
undated
4 4
LWV fight, meeting minutes of various task forces
1997
4 5
Mailing list
undated
4 6
Maps of the water district in Cache Valley
undated
4 7
Mayors of Cache County
undated
4 8
Meeting Minutes of PWWP
1989
4 9
Motions files on behalf of PWWP
1991
4 10
Newsletters
undated
4 11
Newspaper articles about the PWWP and the proposed WCD
undated

Files of PWWP, N-PReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
5 1
Newspaper articles about the PWWP and the proposed WCD
undated
5 2
Newspaper articles about the PWWP and the proposed WCD
undated
5 3
Newspaper articles about the PWWP and the proposed WCD
undated
5 4
North Logan case
undated
5 5
Notes taken in court
undated
5 6
Numbers, percent requirement
undated
5 7
Objections
undated
5 8
“Options for Water Management in Cache County”
undated
5 9
Owens Valley story
undated
5 10
Our motions/supporting data
undated
5 11
Pamphlet drafts
undated

Files of PWWP, PReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
6 1
Pamphlet input
undated
6 2
Pamphlet, short
undated
6 3
PWWP loan papers
undated
6 4
PWWP notes
undated
6 5
PWWP office records
(removed from 3-ring binder)
undated
6 6
PWWP records
(removed from a 3-ring binder)
undated
6 7
PWWP records (removed from a 3-ring binder) continued
undated

Files of PWWP, P-SReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
7 1
PWWP records continued
(removed from a 3-ring binder)
undated
7 2
Petitions, unable to find number
undated
7 3
Press releases of PWWP
undated
7 4
Pro-petition and additional input
undated
7 5
Pro and con data
undated
7 6
Pro witnesses
undated
7 7
Property value totals, L. Ferguson
undated
7 8
Protest, general
undated
7 9
Protest water filing, correspondence and papers
undated
7 10
Questionnaires
undated
7 11
Request to return petition
undated
7 12
Salt Lake County WCD description
undated
7 13
Sandy City, Utah
undated
7 14
Slide show
undated

Files of PWWP, S-WReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
8 1
“Some Points to Ponder Regarding a Water Conservancy District,” by PWWP
undated
8 2
South Cache Valley landownership
undated
8 3
South Cache Project Preliminary Feasibility Report
1976
8 4
The State of Utah Water
1975
8 5
Summary of petition signatures
undated
8 6
Taxes/comparisons
undated
8 7
USU water lab
undated
8 8
Utah Water Symposium papers
1979
8 9
Verification of signatures
undated
8 10
Voter records, checked signatures
undated
8 11
Water Laws of Utah
1964
8 12
WCD directory
undated
8 13
WCD laws
1990
8 14
WCD laws, new and old
undated
8 15
Weber Basin WCD
undated

Files of PWWP, S-WReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Files of PWWP, taxroll and publication, oversized
Box
9
Cache County taxroll within the WCD
1989
9
Issue of Bridgerland, “Water: A Precious Resource,” Herald Journal
1989
Files of PWWP, taxroll, oversized
Box
10
Cache County taxroll within the WCD
1990
Files of PWWP, taxroll, oversized, Marjorie Lewis file, and map of the Cache WCD
Box
11
Cache County taxroll within the WCD
1990
11
Marjorie Lewis file on taxroll papers
undated
11
Map of the Cache WCD
undated
Taxroll and list of signatures in favor of the Cache WCD
1990
Box
12
Cache County taxroll within the WCD
1990
WCD signatures in favor of a WCD part A
1990
Box
12
WCD signatures in favor of a WCD, part B
1990

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Water resources development--Utah--Cache County.

Corporate Names

  • People for Wise Water Planning (Cache County, Utah)--Records and correspondence.