Approval Given for Engineering Contract Worth up to $81.7 Million and Utah's $750 Million Strawberry High Line Project Clears Environmental Review

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

✅ The Central Utah Water Conservancy District has approved an engineering agreement worth up to $81.706 million with Flowline Collective, a Bowen Collins & Associates / Jacobs Solutions joint venture in connection with the estimated $750 million Strawberry High Line Improvement Project.

✅ District records identify the expected funding mix as legislative appropriations, remaining Central Utah Project Completion Act spending authority and district reserves, as the federal government has already allocated $100 million for this effort.

✅ Additionally, federal environmental review is now complete, with construction potentially starting in 2027 and the new pipeline targeted for operation by 2032.

30 September 2026 — UTAH COUNTY, Utah — An engineering agreement worth up to $81.706 million has now been approved on a unanimous 16–0 vote by the Central Utah Water Conservancy District* for a planned water project estimated to cost upwards of $750 million.

The contract was awarded to Flowline Collective, a joint venture between Draper, Utah-based Bowen Collins & Associates and Dallas, Texas-based Jacobs Solutions.

This agreement covers multiple phases, including
🟣 Project management,
🟣 Design,
🟣 Construction support,
🟣 Commissioning,
🟣 Right-of-way assistance,
🟣 Engineering cost opinions, and
🟣 Related work.

The up to $81.7 million is on top of the estimated $750 million for the Strawberry High Line Improvement Project, a project touted by Jacobs in its 11 August 2026 news release about this engineering award to the Flowline Collective JV.

{AUTHOR'S NOTE: The fact that the Jacobs announcement doesn't even name the Flowline Collective or the actual agreement amount to instead pump-up the estimated $750 million costs for the Strawberry High Line Improvement Project, is pure puffery by Jacobs. Fair enough.}

Regardless, there is great info in the Jacobs release about what is expected to be a massively critical environmental infrastructure effort within the Central Utah Water Conservancy District.

For example, the announcement explains that

"... The critical water infrastructure program (aka, the Strawberry High Line Improvement Project) ... is expected to transform the historic Strawberry High Line Canal into a modern, pressurized water system. By replacing the open-water canal with a buried pipeline, the corridor would be repurposed with an integrated regional trail, providing a recreational amenity and improving community connectivity.

"Additionally, the water conveyance project would serve both agricultural users and growing urban communities across south Utah County and eastern Juab County."

{AUTHOR'S NOTE: In its materials, The Central Utah Water Conservancy District describes itself as "... a regional wholesale provider that serves seven counties (all of Utah, Salt Lake, Wasatch, Duchesne, and Uintah Counties as well as parts of Juab and Summit Counties) in central Utah and collaborates with other agencies to serve its constituents."}

The District's board approved the professional-services agreement with Flowline Collective on 17 June 2026, but the signed minutes disclosing the amount were not posted to Utah's Public Notice Website until August 26th, two weeks after Jacobs Solutions announced its selection for the Strawberry High Line Improvement Project.

The Funding Picture Becomes a Bit Clearer

The funding picture for the estimated $750 million project is also a bit clearer than the public announcement suggested.

For example, during a 20 May 2026 board of trustees work session of the Central Utah Water Conservancy District, the Strawberry High Line Improvement Project was described as
🟥  A 14-phase, six-year project with an estimated $750 million budget,
🟥  Expected to be funded through legislative appropriations,
🟥  Remaining spending authority under the Central Utah Project Completion Act, and
🟥  District reserves.

Separately, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced on 17 March 2026 that it had allocated $100 million to replace the 110-year-old open canal in southern Utah County with an enclosed pipeline.

Exactly how much of the remaining funding will come from each identified source has not been publicly disclosed, but the expected pathway to do so has now, at least, been outlined.

One Major Hurdle Is Down

The bigger $750 million project has also advanced since the Jacobs announcement of 11 August 2026.

Specifically, on 15 September 2026, the Central Utah Water Conservancy District and three federal agencies published the completed environmental review of the Nebo Regional Water Project, with a

"FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT"

for the broader project, one that would not significantly affect the natural or human environment.

As a result, a more extensive Environmental Impact Statement (aka, EIS) is not required.

The Nebo Regional Water Project website now lists the environmental assessment as complete and final design as the current phase.

That does not mean every approval is finished as the final environmental documents state that some actions remain subject to
🟢  Additional negotiations,
🟢  Agency approvals,
🟢  Legal review, and
🟢  District board action.

Assuming those requirements are met, construction on the Strawberry High Line Improvement Project is slated to begin in 2027, with completion targeted for 2032.

Will either target be met? That is to be seen.

But from an environmental standpoint, especially "in Utah, the second driest state in the nation," this news strikes me as solid movement forward to improving the water situation in Utah.

* – NOTE: Additional Central Utah Water Conservancy District records documenting Strawberry High Line Improvement Project procurement and subsequent posting chronology are available through the Utah Public Notice Website.

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