The directors of the Salt Lake County Water Conservancy District authorized Friday a $20.2 million bond issue, which will enable the district to obtain 30,000 acre feet of high-quality Provo River water.
Under an exchange agreement, the conservancy district will obtain 40,000 acre feet of irrigation water from Utah Lake, which it will exchange for the Provo River water.Conservancy District Manager Dave Ovard said the district will spend approximately $11 million on the water shares, to be obtained from six irrigation companies in Salt Lake and Utah counties.
To complete the water exchange, the conservancy district has constructed a pumping station along the Jordan River in Bluffdale to move the irrigation water from the Jordan River to the the Welby and Jacob canals, which serve Salt Lake and Utah counties. Thus far, the pumping station has cost about $5.3 million.
The pumping station also moves Jordan River water to the Jordan Valley Treatment plant in Bluffdale. Upon its completion in the mid-1990s, the pumping station will have more total horsepower than the Great Salt Lake West Desert Pumping Project.
Ovard said the remaining money will be spent on water system improvements - including $1.5 million project for a study to determine if underground water supplies can be artificially replenished during the winter and recovered during peak usage in the summer.
More than $1 million is earmarked for improvements to the Jordan Aqueduct and approximately $177,000 has been reserved to complete the interior of the district's board room at its new administration office at 8215 S. 1300 West.
Ovard said he doubts the directors will spend the entire amount allocated for the board room improvements and any unused money will revert back to other capital improvement projects.
"Any nickel that's spent will have to be approved by board action," said board chairman Gerald Maloney.