As the manager of the water agency that shoulders much of the burden for meeting future water needs of Salt Lake County, I am uncomfortable with your editorial of Feb. 21 titled "Alternative more logical than Honeyville project." Salt Lake County is not in favor of the Honeyville project or any alternative at this time. We do know that we need more water and that some of it must come from the Bear River.
State growth projections for Salt Lake County indicate that we will need to double our water supply and related water facilities over the next 30 to 40 years to support the state and local communities in their economic growth and development plans. The state Legislature has allocated 50,000 acre feet to Salt Lake County to be developed from a state-sponsored Bear River project. In addition, 50,000 acre feet were allocated to the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District for Weber and Davis counties, 60,000 acre feet to the Bear River Water Conservancy District for Box Elder County and 60,000 acre feet to Cache County.How that water will be developed is not known at this time. Issues such as water quality and hydrology may dictate how and where this water will be developed. The answers to these questions will not be known for several years. It is not known at this time if Willard Bay can replace the need for new dams on the Bear River. It is clear that if Utah is to develop its share of the Bear River, several dams may have to be built somewhere on the Bear River in the future.
All alternatives for development of the Bear River are still under study and discussion. There are many in Salt Lake and Davis counties who would just as soon see the development that is occurring in Salt Lake and Davis counties take place in Box Elder County or somewhere else and preserve our farmlands for agriculture and open spaces. That would also be a lot cheaper with respect to water development. Unfortunately, we can't have it both ways. Jobs and economic development are not compatible with undeveloped lands. The Wasatch Front is incurring growth impacts to provide good jobs for the offspring of citizens throughout the state including Box Elder County so that they won't have to leave the state. Tax dollars from the Wasatch Front educate children, build roads, manage state parks and pay for many other important government services that benefit outlying areas. Also, dams to be built as part of a state Bear River project will be financed largely from tax revenues from the Wasatch Front and will provide flood control, recreation and environmental enhancements at no direct cost to residents of the northern counties, while water development costs will be repaid 100 percent with interest by Wasatch Front water purveyors.
In fact, almost all non-federal water development in the state has been funded by state tax revenues through the state revolving loan funds administered by the state Division of Water Resources. In most cases, these loans have been repaid in full, with interest, by the beneficiaries.
One additional issue I wish to comment on is water conservation. Conservation is a lifestyle issue. The first thing our pioneer forefathers did when they entered the Salt Lake Valley was to divert local mountain streams for irrigation of yards and crops to make the desert blossom as a rose. Today, about 50 percent of the municipal water used in Salt Lake County still goes on yards and gardens. To achieve more with conservation will require a substantive shift in outside water use.
A trend may already be in place, with many new homes being built on smaller lots and utilizing more-efficient sprinkler systems. Efforts are being made to instill within our residents more awareness for the needs of conservation and wise water use. Still, the potential for reduction in water use is probably less than 10 percent. Economic development cannot go forward on the back of water conservation. It will go forward with water development on the Bear River, conversion of irrigation water from agriculture to municipal uses, continuing losses of agricultural lands throughout the state, including the Wasatch Front, and tough battles regarding environmental values.
Is there a balance that can be achieved between urbanization, agriculture and environmental values? A common thread for all is water. If a balance can be achieved, it will probably be a rolling balance that must be wrestled with by each generation.