Proposed Lake Powell pipeline meets with opposition 

By Mark Havnes

The Salt Lake Tribune

Article Last Updated: 01/16/2008 02:25:18 PM MST

Posted: 2:25 PM- ST. GEORGE -- A group of Washington County residents wants the push for a Lake Powell pipeline to dry up.

    Lin Alder, executive director of Citizens for Dixie's Future, warns that the proposed 158-mile-long pipeline would be too costly, would spawn more sprawl, could prove unreliable and, ultimately, would not be needed to meet the region's water demands.

    But the Washington County Conservancy District sees the pipeline as vital to providing reasonably priced water to a surging southwestern Utah population, expected to swell by 600,000 people in the next 40 years.

    The pipeline -- construction could start as soon as 2018 -- also would deliver smaller shares of water to neighboring Kane and Iron counties. And four proposed hydroelectric plants along the yet-to-be-determined route could bolster energy demands.

    But Alder worries that building the pipeline will spur that growth. In addition, he notes that the $4,781 impact fee charged by cities on new construction to help pay for the $842 million project requires a constant influx of people - even though building permits dropped between 2006 and 2007.

    "If you build the pipeline, they must come," he says, in order to pay for the project.

    Alder and about a dozen other pipeline foes gathered this week in St. George to discuss the project.

    An environmental activist, Alder wants residents to get involved by studying the pipeline plan and then educating their friends and neighbors about it and organizing grass-roots meetings.

    "If it is a good idea," he says, "it will stand up to local dialogue."

    Alder says the politics of Colorado River water, which fills Lake Powell, and the threat of global warming could affect the pipeline's reliability.

    He says drought conditions -- coupled with priority demands on the water by California, Arizona and Nevada -- could prevent the pipeline from delivering the promised water.

    Alder argues that conservation and development of other water projects could satisfy the area's water needs. He says Washington County residents currently use 259 gallons a day per person. By comparison, Tucson residents tap 177 gallons a day and Albuquerque residents 174 gallons a day.

    Barbara Hjelle, assistant director of the Washington County Water Conservancy District, points out the area has made strides in cutting back its water use.

    "Our conservation efforts are substantial," she says, "and we are always making progress."

    But Hjelle says it would be too pricey to deliver water from other sources in the county -- if those sources even could be identified.

    "The amount and quality are not comparable to what the pipeline could deliver," she says.

    Besides funneling more water, Hjelle says, the pipeline also would deliver more cash. For every dollar put in, the pipeline would pump $75 back into Washington County's economy.

    Amanda Hixson, who attended this week's meeting at the Book Cellar in St. George, isn't sold.

    "More conservation, cutting use and developing other projects is the way to go," she says. "People still landscape with grass."

    mhavnes@sltrib.com