Utah Water Research Laboratory general files, 1946-1983

The UWRL had its inception between 1949 and 1951. Engineering Professor Vaughan E. Hansen first envisioned the facility at its present site, below First Dam on the Logan River, along the old Canyon Road, east of campus. Responding to a federal report suggesting the need for a facility in the West to study soil and water needs, President Louis L. Madsen requested that former School of Engineering Dean George D. Clyde prepare a proposal to establish the facility at USAC, in 1951. Clyde was then working as the Chief of the Irrigation Division of the USDA Soil Conservation Service, and was stationed on campus. Clyde later went on to become Director of the Utah Water and Power Board, and in 1956 was elected Governor of Utah, serving two terms through 1964.

In 1959, the State Legislature earmarked $200,000 to begin planning the construction of the Water Lab. Total cost of the structure was estimated at $1, 200,000, and for the next several years, the institution lobbied to secure additional state funding. Initial construction began in 1962, with bids for the second phase accepted in October 1963. The second phase included the building designed by Kenneth W. Jones, and constructed by Olson and Davis Construction Company. The completed building was dedicated on December 6 and 7, 1965. Vaughan E. Hansen was appointed as the first Director of the UWRL. In August 1982, the UWRL was named posthumously for George D. Clyde, who died April 2, 1972.