Did Carbon County really promise to allow the Narrows to be built?

Yes. Twice.

Carbon has promised--in writing--on several occasions to stop objecting to the Narrows.

On October 11, 1943, Carbon County, Sanpete County and the US Government signed an agreement to build the Narrows and enlarge Scofield reservoir to provide more water storage for Carbon, and create water storage for Sanpete. This agreement is often referred to as the Tripartite Agreement (To view, click here).

Nevertheless, Carbon continued to object to the Narrows for four more decades, in spite of their 1943 agreement not to.

Then, on June 8, 1984, Carbon and Sanpete Counties signed "The Compromise Agreement," designed to stop the bickering and move the Narrows forward. Carbon promised to allow Sanpete to move ahead with the Narrows in exchange for Sanpete's willingness to reduce the size of the Narrows to about one-third its original size (from 17,000 acre feet to 5,400 acre feet). Sanpete gave up two-thirds of its rightful water, just to end the arguments.

This agreement also firmed up the location of the Narrows, and reaffirmed that the water rights belonged to Sanpete. Mike Dmitrich, a long-time, distinguished Carbon County public official, signed the agreement twice. (To see a copy of the 1984 Compromise Agreement, click here.)