Provo River Water Users Association

What Provo River Water Users Association does

Provo River Water Users Association (PRWUA) is a nonprofit water users association founded in 1935 that operates and maintains the Deer Creek Division of the Provo River Project under contract with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Construction of the project began in May 1938 and first water became available in 1941 upon completion of Deer Creek Dam. The Association manages a multi-component infrastructure portfolio including the 235-foot earth-fill Deer Creek Dam with a 152,564 acre-feet reservoir, the 4.95 MW Deer Creek Power Plant, the 21.5-mile Provo River Aqueduct (612 cfs capacity), the 6-mile Duchesne Tunnel System through the Uinta Mountains (621 cfs), and the 9-mile Weber-Provo Canal (up to 1,000 cfs). Together these assets supply water to approximately 1.5 million people — roughly half of Utah's population — across Utah, Salt Lake, Summit, and Wasatch Counties, serving both municipal and agricultural users.

The Association's operational backbone is a SCADA system providing real-time monitoring of water flows, reservoir elevations, gate positions, and power generation across all major infrastructure nodes. Public-facing operational products include Water Reports, Deer Creek Data, SCADA System Data, and Daily Average Flow Data. As a federally authorized water project, PRWUA operates under congressional reclamation law with the Bureau of Reclamation owning Deer Creek Dam and the Power Plant, while the Association serves as contracted dam tender responsible for operation and maintenance. Revenue is generated through water user fees assessed on shareholders, hydroelectric power sales routed through the Western Area Power Administration, and supplemented by government loans and inter-agency partnerships for major capital projects.

Current major initiatives include the $100 million Deer Creek Intake Project (construction began Spring 2023, three-year duration) funded by a $65 million Board of Water Resources loan and $24 million from the Central Utah Water Conservancy District, the ULDC South Branch Pipeline Replacement Project, and a Congressional-backed pursuit of EPA funding for further infrastructure replacement. The Association is supported by 11-50 employees and operates from its headquarters in Pleasant Grove, Utah.

Name

Provo River Water Users Association

Legal name

Provo River Water Users Association

Website

https://prwua.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1935

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Provo River Water Users Association is a nonprofit cooperative operating the Deer Creek Division of the Provo River Project, managing Bureau of Reclamation-authorized dams, aqueducts, tunnels, and a 4.95 MW power plant that deliver water to roughly 1.5 million people across four Utah counties.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water Infrastructure and Supply Services

NAICS

Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (22131)

SIC

Water Supply (4941), Water, Sewer, Pipeline, Comm & Power Line Construction (1623)

akta.pro primary industry

Water Resources Administration (Watersheds, Rivers, Groundwater) (BPAIAMAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Water Source Development & Conveyance (Intakes, Canals, Pipelines) (AFACAFAH), Hydro BOP Civil & Water Conveyance (Dams, Spillways, Penstocks, Canals) (EUAMAFAG)

Keywords

• Water infrastructure management
• Municipal water supply
• Hydroelectric power generation
• Irrigation water delivery
• Water rights administration

Headquarters

HQ city

Pleasant Grove

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

PRWUA operates and maintains the Deer Creek Division of the Provo River Project, a Bureau of Reclamation water infrastructure portfolio that includes Deer Creek Dam and Reservoir, the 4.95 MW Deer Creek Power Plant, the Provo River Aqueduct, the Duchesne Tunnel and associated diversions, and the Weber-Provo Canal system. The Association delivers municipal, agricultural, and industrial water supply to approximately 1.5 million people across four Utah counties, and provides real-time SCADA monitoring and public water operations data.

Product overview

Provo River Water Users Association operates and maintains the Deer Creek Division of the Provo River Project, a Bureau of Reclamation water project. The organization manages a multi-component water infrastructure portfolio consisting of: (1) Deer Creek Dam & Reservoir and associated 4.95 MW Deer Creek Power Plant; (2) Provo River Aqueduct (21.5-mile enclosed pipeline) with Murdock Diversion; (3) Duchesne Tunnel System including the 6-mile Duchesne Tunnel, Duchesne Diversion, and Broadhead Diversion; (4) Weber-Provo Canal System including Weber-Provo Diversion, 9-mile Weber-Provo Canal, Beaver Creek Diversion, and Francis Gauge; and (5) monitoring services including SCADA System Data, Water Reports, Deer Creek Data, and Daily Average Flow Data. The Association provides water supply to residents, agriculture, and commerce in Utah, Salt Lake, Summit, and Wasatch Counties.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Deer Creek Dam & Reservoir A zoned earth-fill dam on the Provo River approximately 16 miles northeast of Provo, Utah, creating a reservoir with 152,564 acre-feet capacity that serves as a major municipal and industrial water supply as well as irrigation supply for the Wasatch Front.
• Deer Creek Power Plant Hydroelectric power generation facility at the base of Deer Creek Dam with two 2,475 kW generators (4.95 MW total capacity). Owned by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and operated and maintained by the Association.
• Provo River Aqueduct System A 126-inch diameter welded-steel pipeline running approximately 21.5 miles from Murdock Diversion in Provo Canyon to Point of the Mountain near the Utah County/Salt Lake County boundary, delivering water with 612 cfs capacity.
• Duchesne Tunnel System A six-mile long, 10-foot diameter concrete-lined horseshoe-shaped rock tunnel that conveys water from the Duchesne River through the Uinta Mountains to the Provo River, with a capacity of 621 cfs.
• Weber-Provo Canal System A nine-mile canal system running from the Weber River (one mile east of Oakley, Utah) to the Provo River, consisting of unlined, earth-lined, and concrete-lined sections with up to 1,000 cfs capacity.
• Deer Creek Intake Project Infrastructure refurbishment project addressing aging intake and guard gates at Deer Creek Reservoir, using innovative construction methods that do not require draining the reservoir.
• SCADA System Data Monitoring Real-time Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system providing live monitoring of water flow, reservoir elevation, gate positions, and power generation data across the entire water system infrastructure.
• Water Reports Daily water operations report providing snow pack data, reservoir storage levels, flow rates, diversions, and system status for the Provo River Project.
• Deer Creek Data Service Historical and current Deer Creek Reservoir statistics including water surface elevation, volume, releases, power generation, aqueduct flow, and calculated inflow data.
• Daily Average Flow Data Service Daily average flow data across the water system including tunnel flows, canal flows, reservoir levels, and aqueduct measurements.

Quantifiable outcome

• Serves 1.5 million people (half of Utah's population) with water supply
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• Bowen-Collins and AssociatesmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2019Selected as project design engineer for the Deer Creek Power Plant Tube Valve Replacement Project, providing engineering design services for the replacement of the 54-inch tube valves.
• VanConmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2019Selected as contractor to purchase and install new plunger valves at Deer Creek Power Plant. Valves delivered in late 2019 with installation during winters of 2019-20 and 2020-21.
• Erhard Valve LLC (via Cascade Consultants)majorTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2019Selected through request for proposals to manufacture and supply plunger valves for Deer Creek Power Plant. Initial valves from Erhard did not meet flow requirements; Armacon GmbH special-order plunger valves subsequently selected as replacement.
• U.S. Bureau of ReclamationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeer Creek Dam and Power Plant are owned by the Bureau of Reclamation. PRWUA serves as dam tenders, operating and maintaining all aspects of the earth fill structure, spillway gates, outlet works, and hydroelectric facilities under contract with Reclamation.
• U.S. Bureau of ReclamationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Provo River Project was authorized by Congress under Reclamation law. PRWUA repays loans from the Bureau of Reclamation with full repayment of original construction costs expected in 2023.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• East Bay Municipal Utility District: California publicly-owned water utility serving ~1.4M people in the East Bay. Operates reservoirs, aqueducts, and hydroelectric facilities with a comparable franchise model and asset base serving a major Western metro.
• Metropolitan Water District of Southern California: Large regional wholesale water agency serving ~19M Southern Californians. Operates massive conveyance infrastructure (aqueducts, reservoirs, treatment) and reflects the institutional scale and Westminster-style governance of agencies in the Western U.S. water landscape.
• Denver Water: Large U.S. municipal water utility serving ~1.5 million people across the Denver metro. Comparable scale, asset base (multi-reservoir system, tunnels, treatment facilities), and franchise-like position serving a major Western U.S. metro area reliant on snowpack-fed supply.
• San Diego County Water Authority: Regional water authority importing and distributing water for 3.3M San Diego County residents. Operates major pipeline infrastructure and storage assets — comparable asset category and customer base to PRWUA but at much larger scale.

Direct peers

• Washington County Water Conservancy District: Utah water conservancy district in Washington County (St. George area) operating reservoirs, pipelines, and treatment infrastructure. Comparable in scale, governance (conservancy district), and mission of delivering water to a fast-growing region.
• Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District: Large Utah water conservancy district serving Salt Lake County with municipal water supply operations. Operates major treatment and distribution infrastructure in the same southern Idaho / northern Utah region with a comparable water users / member-owned structure.
• Weber Basin Water Conservancy District: Utah water conservancy district serving the Weber River basin with similar functions to PRWUA — operating reservoirs, canals, and water delivery infrastructure for municipal and irrigation users in northern Utah. Directly comparable cooperative governance and asset profile.
• Central Utah Water Conservancy District: Regional water conservancy district in Utah that is PRWUA's direct funding and operational partner on the Deer Creek Intake Project ($24M contribution) and joint manager of Jordanelle Reservoir. Operates large-scale water infrastructure for municipal and agricultural users in the same Wasatch Front region.

Others

• Bureau of Reclamation (Upper Colorado Region): The federal agency that owns Deer Creek Dam and Power Plant and contracts PRWUA as its operator. As the counterparty that defines PRWUA's operating rights and approval framework, the Bureau is the most directly relevant institutional peer — not a competitor but the upstream governing entity.

Regional players

• Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities: Municipal water and wastewater utility serving Salt Lake City — a downstream customer of PRWUA's Provo River Aqueduct. Comparable in operating water treatment and distribution infrastructure for a large Utah population, though municipally rather than cooperatively owned.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/prwua
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/provo-river-water-users-association

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Provo River Water Users Association