il-june-18

Jeremy Sorensen
of the Strawberry
Water Users
Association
The Strawberry Water Users Association (SWUA) delivers
71,000 acre-feet of water to more than 40,000 acres of
orchards and alfalfa fields, as well as burgeoning communities
on the southern Wasatch Front in Utah County. SWUA uses
the infrastructure of the Strawberry Valley Project, the first
Bureau of Reclamation project in Utah, to move water from the
Colorado River basin into the Great Basin.
For General Manager Jeremy Sorensen, delivering water on
behalf of SWUA is a family affair. Since SWUA was founded
100 years ago, there
have only been 20
years in which there
was not a Sorensen on
the board of directors.
Mr. Sorensen’s father
is currently one of his
15 board members.
Mr. Sorensen started
with the district as
its accountant and
moved into the general
manager position in
2011.
Kris Polly, editorin-chief
of Irrigation
Leader, spoke to Mr.
UTAH
Strawberry Water
Users Association
Sorensen about SWUA’s long history of service, his efforts to
transfer the title of some of the project’s infrastructure and
water rights back to SWUA, and the importance of outreach to
the next generation of water users.
Kris Polly: Please describe the agricultural lands you
serve.
Jeremy Sorensen: Agricultural production in our area
is quite diverse. In terms of orchards, we have cherry,
apple, and even pluot, which is a hybrid between a plum
and an apricot. Some growers raise raspberries; others
raise pumpkins or watermelons. The majority of growers
produce alfalfa, corn, wheat, and barley.
IRRIGATION LEADER
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