Timpanogos Canal
(Utah County)
(Utah County)
The Timpanogos Canal Company provides Provo River irrigation water to users in northeastern Provo, Utah. The company was formed in 1878 and operates the Timpanogos Canal in Utah County (not to be confused with the Timpanogos Canal in Wasatch County, Utah).
TCC owns the water rights and provides water to company shareholders. TCC water shares are required to be used for "beneficial purposes" such as irrigation. Each owner of an outstanding share certificate must pay an annual assessment (set at $50 per year plus $50 for each share over the first) to cover canal maintenance costs and operating expenses. Special assessments may be required when extra costs are incurred. Annual assessments must be paid whether the water is used or not. In the event the assessment is not paid, delinquent shares will be cancelled and resold to the highest bidder after publication of notification of delinquency in a Provo newspaper.
The irrigation season nominally runs from April through October. Most users are "stream 2" users and can use their water 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. M-F during the irrigation season. They cannot take water when "stream 1" users ware taking water weekdays from 10:00 p.m. through 6:00 a.m. and all day Saturday and Sunday. Users are individually responsible for opening and closing valves on the canal and laterals. The canal is only responsible for and only maintains the main canal pipe. It is not responsible for, nor does it maintain, laterals (side feeds off the main canal pipe). Lateral users are responsible for maintaining their laterals. The laterals also have easements and property owners are responsible for maintaining pipes and ditches of the laterals that flow through their property whether they own shares or not. Individual water users should monitor their own usage as they are responsible for where the water flows once they have opened a valve or gate. The general rule is: if you turn it on, you should turn it off. Do not allow unmonitored water flow.
In the event of an emergency, contact the canal watermaster Chris Hull 801-822-3496.
The annual share assessment is nominally $100/shareholder plus $100 for each share over one. Due to extra expenses anticipated for adding meters to the system, there will be a supplementary assessment of $300/share for 2025.
Please mail your assessment payment checks by 30 April to: Timpanogos Canal Company, P.O. Box 7128, University Station, Provo, UT, 84602. Unfortunately, we have been unable to find a low cost way to make payments electronically. Note: you must pay your assessments even if you do not use your water. If you do not want to pay your assessment, you can contact the company president about selling your shares. If you fail to pay your assessments, you will forfeit your shares.
Please note that annual shareholder assessments are due in April, so the 2025 Annual Assessment is due by the end of April 2025. (pay ahead)
NOTE: In order to save the cost and overhead of mailing annual letters, we are switching to all-electronic communication. This will allow us to more frequently communicate with users at much lower cost. Accordingly, we request all shareholders to provide us an email address that we can use for communication. We will NOT continue to send physical letters. We recognize that this will be a difficulty for some users. For these users, we recommend you work with your neighbors to get timely information from them, which will be sent out by email. Unfortunately, we do not have the resources to call everyone. Please check the email address on your latest mailing for accuracy. If an email address is not listed, please send an email to timpcanalco@gmail.com so we can update our records and so that you will receive canal updates.
The 2025 watering season is expected to begin in April. It is not clear at this time if there will be restrictions on water use again this year, but it seems possible. We will send an email in April when the Provo River water master allows us to start up the canal. As in recent years, you may use your watering turn any time between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. Monday through Friday (weekdays only). Nights and weekends are reserved for large water users only (Stream 1). You may water one or more times per week for a total irrigation time of up to, but not exceeding, your total allocated time. If you desire a longer irrigation turn time with a lower flow rate, we suggest that you irrigate together with another irrigation water user on your lateral to share the larger lateral flow. Please check to ensure that your lateral is clear before turning on water. If you have questions concerning how to best use your variable irrigation time opportunity please call or email the watermaster Chris Hull at 801-822-3496 or chris.hull@byu.edu After use, please close the valve of your lateral so other users can use water. DO NOT ALLOW UNMONITORED FLOW AT ANY TIME.
All share holders are required to provide information to the canal company on their ownership where their water shares are being used. To update your information this send an email to timpcanalco@gmail.com (preferred) or a letter to Timpanogos Canal Co., P.O. Box 7128 University Station, Provo, Utah 84602 that provides the following information:
(1) share owner name and address, email, and phone number
(2) stock certificate number(s)
(3) use location name, address, phone number and email (the use location must be along the canal in Provo, Utah)
If you don't known your stock certificate number, contact the company president.
Stock exchanges are handled between two willing people; however, this exchange must recorded by the TCC. The TCC retains right of refusal on all stock exchanges. Water shares can only be sold for use within the Timpanogos Canal system. The TCC does not set nor track share prices but sales MUST be registered with the company. We note that water from TCC shares must be used to avoid forfeiture of the share, and there is an annual assessment (nominally $100/shareholder plus $100 per share over the first 1.0 shares). There is a $40 certificate fee for stock transfer. The original certificate of ownership must be returned as part of a sales transaction. Water shares can be rented from share holders but the Canal Co. must be informed of such arrangements, and the share holder remains responsible for paying annual assessments. For user convenience, we informally maintain a list of people interested in buying/selling and leasing shares.
Legal Easement Information
A legal easement of 10 feet to either side of the canal center line is recorded with the Utah County with the latest version dated 25 Jan 2002. The easement is recorded only for the main canal. Laterals are not included in this formal easement, but have prescriptive easements based on their long-time use (since the 1800's). Lateral users and land owners are responsible for maintaining laterals.
The 2024 Timpanogos Canal Company Annual Shareholder meeting was held at 1 pm on Saturday 7 December 2024 in Room 198 on the basement floor of the Brewster Building on the BYU campus. Same place it has been held the last few years. For slides presented at the meeting see Meeting Report.
Who do I contact if there is an emergency? Watermaster Chris Hull 801-822-3496 chris.hull@byu.edu
What is the irrigation season? This is the period during which you can expect to use water from the pipe, typically April through October.
What time of day can I use water? Most users are "stream 2" users and can use their water 6:00 am to 9:00 pm M-F during the irrigation season. They cannot water at night or on weekends, which is when "stream 1" users take their water on Saturday and Sunday. Users are individually responsible for opening and closing valves on the canal and laterals. Do not allow unmonitored water flow.
How long can I water? This depends on the number of shares you have and the water flow you use from the canal (in dry years we will not get our full flow). At full flow, this one hour per week per share, though if your lateral has a smaller valve, you can water longer if conditions permit. Most laterals support smaller flow so that on these, you can water for two hours per week. You can divide your watering time to water more than once a week so long as the total usage in a week is no more than your total allocation. We encourage you to coordinate your watering time with other users on your lateral or valve to minimize confusion and waste. The general rule is: if you turn it on, you should turn it off. Do not allow unmonitored water flow.
How long has the canal been in operation? The company was first started in 1878 and has operated the canal continuously since then.
Who owns the canal? The canal company owns the water rights and the piping system. Shareholders own their share of the company, which is operated as not-for-profit for the benefit of the water users. The land on which the canal runs is owned by individual property owners and has a legal easement for the canal presence that is recorded with the county. The easement includes right-of-access to service the canal. Land owners are responsible for their own landscaping.
How big it the canal pipe? The canal was originally an open, clay-lined ditch, but has now been all piped except for a short section near the mouth of Provo canyon. The pipe size varies from 36" diameter to dual 18" diameter lines.
The canal or a lateral runs through my yard. I want to plant around it. Can I do this? Yes, the land on which the canal and laterals run is owned by individual property owners but has a legal easement for the canal and laterals. The easements include right-of-access to service the canal. Land owners are responsible for their own landscaping. They cannot modify the canal without permission from the company. If they want to alter a lateral, they need to coordinate with the lateral water users first. The company can provide a contact list of lateral users. Do not plant trees over or next to the buried pipeline as this may cause damage to the pipe which the land owner is responsible for, whether or not they use canal water.
Where does the canal water come from and how is water in the canal allocated? The Provo River. There is a small diversion dam at the mouth of Provo Canyon which is shared by several canal companies. Water is diverted from the river here, screened, and fed into several piped canals, including the Timpanogos Canal. Class "A" water rights for the Timpanogos Canal are from the 1921 Morris Provo River Decree and listed as 55-11006 on the Utah Division of Water Rights web site. With various exchanges since this time, the nominal water quantity allocation is 6.78 cfs. Over a nominal irrigation season, an individual share is approximately 7.683 acft/share.
I have heard that the Utah Division of Water Rights is "adjudicating" our water rights. Can they really take away my water? If you fail to use your water or lease it to someone who is using the water, they legally may be able to do so. We must show that we are using our full allocation of water. It is thus critical that you keep your information on ownership and usage up to date with the canal company. If you cannot use your water allocation you must sell your share or lease it out. Note that you can get a tax write-off by donating your share to a non-profit organization who can use the water such as Provo City or BYU. The TCC will be adding metering for all users beginning in 2023 to track usage.
Can I lease my share to a responsible user? Yes. This is a private arrangement, but you must inform the the canal of the contact information of the user and the location of use of the water. Water can only be delivered to shareholders on active laterals with meters. Note: all users and owners are liable for maintaining laterals for flooding resulting from their use of canal water.
What is the Utah Division of Water Rights identifier for the Timpanogos Canal Company? 1109 on the Utah Division of Water Rights web site.
Do you have a map of the canal? Here is a map of the location of the centerline of the canal (the dashed line labled Timpanogos Canal -- other canals are also shown) in northeastern Provo, Utah as of 2017. Laterals are not shown. The service area nominally begins at the north end of Canyon Road, then follows Timpview Dr. past the high school to where 9th East passes west of the temple. It then passes through the tree streets, and ends east of Kwanis Park. Here is a Google Earth map of the main canal (laterals are not shown). The legal easement document is contained here.
Should shares be listed in the name of living owners? Yes.
What is a water share worth? Short answer: whatever a user is willing to pay for it. Shares can only be sold for use within the Timpanogos Canal system. The TCC does not set nor track share prices. Water rights cannot be viewed as investments, since they must be used to be maintained. Also, failure to pay annual assessments ($50/shareholder per year + $50 per share over 1.0 shares) will lead to forfeiture of delinquent shares. The TCC retains right of refusal on all stock exchanges.
How do I sell water shares? First, find a willing buyer who is able to use the water on the canal and determine the transaction price. Then, coordinate with the company president to arrange a transfer of sale. There is a $50 certificate fee for this transfer. The buyer must return the original certificate of ownership as part of the sales transactions. Note: the TCC retains right of refusal on all stock exchanges.
Do I have to return the original certificate when doing a sale? Yes.
What if I have lost the original share certificate? A new share certificate can be issued and the old one invalidated. This takes time to research. There is $50 fee for the new certificate.
How do I buy shares? To buy shares you have to be able to show that you can use the water from the canal. Then, find a willing seller and determine the transaction price. The TCC does not set or track transaction prices. Coordinate with the company president to arrange a transfer of sale. The TCC retains right of refusal on all stock exchanges.
Can I donate my shares to a non-profit organization such as BYU for a significant tax right off? Yes, contact Nathan Diehl 801-361-2084 nathan.diehl@byu.edu Provo City is also interested in purchasing water shares, contact Shane Jones 801-376-6368 sjones@provo.org