The Red Butte Watershed Project was funded by a grant from Chevron. In 2008, a pipeline carrying oil across the foothills of the Wastach to the North Salt Lake refinery burst, dumping thousands of gallons of oil into Red Butte Creek, a reservoir that serves as both a pristine research area and as the urban drinking supply for Salt Lake City. Commissioned by the University of Utah Biology Department, the project creates a platform for Biology classes to accumulate data for long-term analysis.