ABSTRACT
Any discussion of social values related to water in Utah must begin with the influence of the Mormon religion. The roots of modern Utah society and its economy lie with the agricultural communities that developed subsequent to the arrival of Brigham Young's party in 1847. The physical pattern of early irrigated agriculture of Utah is not significantly different from attempts to settle or develop any other region of the arid West. But in Utah, the unification in purpose which resulted from the "religious colonization" of the state by the Mormons greatly enhanced the speed with which the agricultural communities developed, and provided a central source of leadership around which the water institutions developed. The CUWCD has been instrumental in forwarding the Central Utah Project with active participation in the planning of the project and assistance in the resolution of conflicts resulting from the project's development.
