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SALT LAKE CITY — The future of Kane County’s water supplies will not be part of the environmental review by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation as it probes the impacts of the proposed Lake Powell Pipeline.
The withdrawal of Kane County was made at the request of the Kane County Water Conservancy District.
“We continue to support the Lake Powell Pipeline and consider it absolutely essential to the future of southwestern Utah,” said Mike Noel, the district’s general manager, but added the district did not have a foreseeable need for the water.
But a similar review of Washington County’s projected population growth and available water supply deemed the project essential, according to proponents.
“Washington County is the fastest-growing and one of the driest regions in Utah,” said Todd Adams, director of the Utah Division of Water Resources. “The county is projected to triple in the next 40 years and is currently dependent on a single river basin that is almost fully developed. A second, reliable water source is vital for Washington County’s growing population and economy.”
But critics of the pipeline say Kane County’s departure should be a signal that the project is unnecessary and a waste of money.
“Kane County residents dodged the bullet on this costly water project,” said Zach Frankel, executive director of the Utah Rivers Council, adding that Washington County residents will see costly rate hikes from an exorbitantly expensive project.
Kane County was expected to receive about 4% of the water from the pipeline and its departure means the elimination of a 10-mile segment for connection. If it chooses to, it can connect in the future.
The 140-mile pipeline will ultimately deliver about 82,000 acre-feet of water from Lake Powell to Washington County. An acre-foot of water is enough to cover a football field with water that is about a foot deep.
A draft environmental review is expected out this summer.
