A major water conveyance upgrade in central Utah is moving forward as population growth and agricultural demand increase pressure on regional water infrastructure. Jacobs has been selected by the Central Utah Water Conservancy District to provide engineering services for the proposed Strawberry High Line Improvement Project.
The program has an estimated construction value of $750 million and would modernize the Strawberry High Line Canal, which was originally constructed around 1916 as part of the Strawberry Valley Project.
The existing canal carries water from the Strawberry Reservoir and Spanish Fork River for agricultural and municipal uses. The planned improvements would replace the open-water conveyance with a buried, pressurized pipeline system.
Jacobs will perform the engineering assignment in a joint venture with Bowen Collins & Associates. The scope is expected to include design and construction-phase support for new pipelines, a pump station and associated infrastructure.
The upgraded conveyance system is planned to support water deliveries for a future population of approximately 420,000 people in addition to serving agricultural users in south Utah County and eastern Juab County.
Replacing the open canal would also create an opportunity to repurpose the existing corridor. Project plans call for an integrated regional trail that would provide a recreational route and improve connections between communities.
The Strawberry High Line work is part of broader investment in central Utah's water infrastructure. A $100 million federal investment has been identified to support replacement of the century-old canal with an enclosed pipeline system, with the goal of improving water delivery efficiency, reliability and safety for agricultural and community users.
For construction owners and infrastructure contractors, the project represents a substantial upcoming water-sector program combining large-scale conveyance, pumping infrastructure and corridor redevelopment. The engineering selection establishes Jacobs and Bowen Collins & Associates as part of the team supporting the project's design and construction phases.
The planned modernization would replace aging open-channel infrastructure with a pressurized system while maintaining water service for agriculture and growing communities. The estimated $750 million construction value also places the Strawberry High Line Improvement Project among the larger water infrastructure programs advancing in Utah.
Source: Jacobs.
