By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
If there is a way to assure that water from CUP
comes to east Juab County and to the communities of south
Utah County, area residents should find it.
"Those who care about bringing water to east Juab
County, as promised, should contact their representatives
in Washington," said Wm. Boyd Howarth, Juab County
Commissioner.
All comments should be written and should be either
mailed or e mailed to and individual member of the Utah
Washington delegation.
Howarth and David Leavitt, Juab County Attorney,
and Randy Brailsford, chairman of the South Utah County
Mayors' Group (representing Elk Ridge, Genola, Goshen,
Mapleton, Payson, Salem, Santaquin, Spanish Fork,
Springville, and Woodland Hills) testified before the U.
S. House of representatives Committee on Resources
Subcommittee on Water and Power in Washington, D.C.
Randy Brailsford is the Mayor of the city of Salem
and, also as chairman of the South County Mayors Group in
Utah County, represents all ten communities in the south
half of Utah County.
Those communities as well of those in east Juab
County are located approximately 50 miles south of Salt
Lake City.
"We represent our constituents at the grass roots
level." said Brailsford in his testimony. "It is,
therefore, our solemn obligation to see to the future
needs of our children and grandchildren."
He quoted Parley R. Neeley from June 1848 "It will
not be possible, when traveling from Salt Lake City to
Nephi, to tell where one city ends and another
begins."
Brailsford said communities affected by
re-directing CUP water meant for them to Salt Lake County
means that those in an area of about 200 square miles
will be short-changed.
The area is one of the fastest growing in the state
and has experienced approximately 6 percent growth per
year during the last six years.
"We anticipate a population of over 600,000 by
2070," Brailsford said. "The Bonneville Unit of the
Central Utah Project is our last chance for additional
water to meet these projected needs."
He said the ten communities of the association have
been trying to plan for residents well into the future
and have organized an interlocal association called the
South Utah Valley Municipal Water Association (SUVMWA) to
organize and design a program for the future water
needs.
Juab County Commissioners have made similar
plans.
All have been very involved with the Department of
Interior and the Central Utah Water Conservancy District
in trying to plan for future water needs.
"This project is the only future source of water we
have for our area," Brailsford said.
Future water for both indoor and outdoor use is
dependent on this project and the water it would provide.
East Juab County, which is projecting rapid growth in the
next 20 years, will need water agriculture and for
residential use.
Mona officials continue to be concerned about
providing water for a growing community.
"SUVMWA is very concerned with how much underground
water can be used in our area and at what point will that
development start to interfere with the environmental
issues such as wet lands and in stream flows needed for
wildlife and fish," he said.
"We recently had one of our community's well go
dry," said Brailsford. "Other cities have had to drop
well pumps much deeper to find the water. Other cities
have building moratoriums in place because of water
restrictions."
Having pipe lines from Strawberry Reservoir to the
area will give needed pressure for water in pressure
irrigation systems and save considerable power
consumption in not having to pump water into these
systems.
"In fact, we have been looking forward to the
project and the water it would provide for our area for
almost fifty years," he said.
Area governmental leaders have been anticipating
that as the agriculture use changed to municipal use, so
would the use of the water change. Long term plans have
be based on the ability to have access to CUP water.
