Gathering at the proposed site of the Narrows reservoir for a press conference this week, a group of them vented over what they see as endless roadblocks put before a project originally proposed in 1924. It was approved by the Bureau of Reclamation as recently as 1995 - but pushed back because of a water rights dispute with neighboring Carbon County, and now a new environmental impact study.

"We want to bring attention to the fact that we won this [battle] in court," said Edwin Sunderland, chairman of the Sanpete County Water Conservancy District. "The water right is our water right. But we can't seem to get anywhere with it."

The problem, say backers of the project, is that Sanpete County has no way to store water, leaving it almost entirely dependent on snowmelt - which means water shortages nearly every year by mid-summer, after the runoff tapers away.

"Virtually everybody on the government side says a dam is needed, and there is a lot of talk," said Greg Soter, a Provo publicist who has organized this latest build-the-dam campaign.

"But after 70 years, there is still no dam and no reservoir," he added. "We're just trying to get somebody at the bureaucratic level to get something done. These people need this project."

Bureau of Reclamation officials say they empathize, but funding and land-use issues surrounding the project require time to sort out. Three federal agencies - Reclamation, the Forest Service and the Army Corps of Engineers - must all sign off.

"We understand their frustration. But we want to make an informed decision and the correct decision," said Kerry Schwartz, manager of water and environmental issues for the Bureau.

There are environmental concerns. Gooseberry Creek flows into the Price River - which in April was designated as one of the nation's 10 most endangered rivers in a study by a group of environmental organizations. According to the report, damming Gooseberry Creek would put valuable upstream habitat underwater and deplete downstream habitat.

"This project has been a long time coming, but there are alternatives to building a dam," said Merritt Frey, director of the Utah Rivers Council. "You could deliver that water to Sanpete County just by improving the efficiency of existing supplies and systems. A dam is an old-fashioned idea. It's time to apply some new thinking to the issue."

Sunderland and others also fault U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson for standing in the way of the project. His support, they say, could help clear the way for approval.

But Matheson spokeswoman Alyson Heyrend says her boss is not ready to do that.

"It seems to make sense to look at all the options, so that Sanpete can get the water it needs and the concerns of neighbors can be addressed as well," she said. "There are a lot of competing concerns."

jbaird@sltrib.com