Water wars.

• Author: Smith, Cheryl
• Position: Arguments over current state of Utah's water supply range from 'plenty of water' to 'desperately short supply'; includes related article on the basic needs of business

Water Wars

THE BASIC NEEDS OF BUSINESS

Does Utah Have What They Want?

Perhaps surprisingly, a state's infrastructure--or the lack of it--is one of the top five requirements of businesses looking for a place to set up shop. PHH Fantus, one of the nation's top site-location consultant firms, generally defines infrastructure as roads, water, power, natural gas, and telecommunications. Though the availability of qualified employees and the costs of labor top their shopping list, infrastructure ranks fifth, according to a recent PHH Fantus survey.

"Infrastructure is not a sexy topic, but--if it's neglected--it becomes a |fatal flaw.' If you don't have it and don't keep it maintained, you won't be in the game," advises Kate McEnroe, vice president, PHH Fantus in Chicago. Specific requirements, however, vary from project to project. Regardless of the type of business, everyone has certain underlying needs before they can make a product, serve the customer, and transport goods. Regarding water, utilities, and roads, a business owner wants to know (1) Does it exist? and (2) Can I count on it in the future?

In Utah's young history, as many battles have been fought over water rights to wells, streams, and springs as over the subject of religion. During a drought two ranchers shot it out over a spring in Rich County. And that was just last year.

Depending on which side of the proverbial river you stand, Utah either has plenty of water . . . or is in desperately short supply. The real answer probably lies somewhere midstream. "It's a myth that Utah is running out of water," says one of the West's foremost water attorneys, based in Salt Lake City. "Utah has plenty of water; the crisis is the creation of institutional shortages--individuals and agencies have the water, but they don't want others to have any of it."

And now the crisis has spilled across the border with the current. It seems southern California--with 12 million water customers--and Las Vegas, Nev.--America's fastest growing city--wants to buy Utah's "surplus" water. A San Diego man, desperate for water to irrigate his expensive landscaping, even called Utah's water office to see about trucking water from Utah to his home. But do we have any to sell?

"You couldn't even pay Grand County to loan water to Denver," says Paul Gillette, deputy director, Utah Division of Water Resources. "And the fear is that if we sell our portion of the Colorado downstream for the short term as requested by the Bureau of Reclamation, we'll never see another drop of it."

Good to The Last Drop

A sophisticated new computer model developed by Utah State University in Logan--the first of its kind in the country--projects Salt Lake County will dry up by 2015, even with its share of water to come from the Central Utah Project's new Jordanelle Reservoir.

Using population growth projections and data about existing water supplies, consumption, stream flows, annual precipitation, and evaporation, the computer model simulates Utah's water picture. The amazingly detailed survey, available to every community and water user in the state, allows cities to see firsthand how far their existing water supplies will take them into the 21st century.

Yours, Mine, and Ours

Up until 1990, water was a divisive issue within the Salt Lake Valley, involving dozens of suppliers, retailers, and wholesalers. That possessiveness ended when all entities joined in a landmark move to establish a Conjunctive Water Management Plan, a consolidated plan for water delivery within all of Salt Lake County via two wholesalers: Metropolitan Water District of Salt Lake City (MWD) and the Salt Lake County Water Conservancy District (SLCWCD).

Salt Lake City Service Area

(Downtown, unincorporated eastern areas of Salt Lake County, and Sandy City)

The pioneers who settled the city immediately diverted water from City Creek above downtown. Isolated from the rest of the world in...