By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
Central Utah Project may not bring water to Juab
County, in keeping with promises made in the past, but water
of some sort should replace it.
Wm. Boyd Howarth, as commission chair, made a trip to
Washington D.C. last year. At that time he met with the
committee set to deliberate and make recommendations on the
completion of CUP water delivery systems.
He gave testimony of the importance of the project to
Juab County.
"I told them we wanted real, wet water running from
the tap," said Howarth.
Chris Finlinson, spokeswoman for the Central Utah
Water Conservancy District, Don A. Christiansen, general
manager, and Ross Garrett, Juab County's representative on
the governing board of 18 trustees representing 10 central
Utah counties, all met with Juab County Commissioners to
discuss concerns the commission has with the District.
"We are still trying hard to keep the pipeline in,"
said Christiansen. "We are trying to keep it close to Juab
County."
If the pipeline comes near Juab County then it might
end up delivering water to Juab County. Though that water
would, in all likelihood, not be CUP water.
"We need the water," said Robert Steele, commissioner.
"It is extremely important to us."
The water, which might come to Juab county, while not
part of the CUP water, would be a water project designed for
Juab County.
In addition to comment given in the past,
commissioners said they are in the process of writing a
letter which will, once again, express the need for some
sort of project which would bring water to Juab County.
Christiansen said Juab County had been heard, in the
past, loud and clear, and it was well-understood that the
commission was disgruntled about not getting the water from
a project the county's residents had supported through taxes
since the inception.
The District is currently under a great many
restrictions, he said, and if the beginning projects of the
Central Utah Project were to be tackled today, most would
not be built.
"The easy projects have already been built," said
Christiansen.
Nevertheless, that does not mean that Juab County will
be forgotten.
Christiansen said that Representative Chris Cannon is
committed to making certain that the water needs of Juab
County are met.
"He is consistent about caring for Juab County," said
Christiansen. "Every time he sees me he asks: 'What is being
done to help Juab County?' He never fails to ask about this
county."
Ross Garrett's term on the board is once again up for
re-appointment. County commissioners, under terms of the
state, are to nominate three persons for the board.
The governor then chooses the final appointee.
The Board of Trustees provides a check and balance
between rural and urban representation. The appointed
citizen board governs the affairs of the District and
establishes policy.
Garrett is the only one sitting on the board who has
been there since its inception in 1954. He has served longer
than any other director and is well-respected on the
board.
"Ross (Garrett) is one of the 18 directors but the
other 17 are committed to him and their commitment is
sincere," said Christiansen.
The Central Utah Water Conservancy District is a
political subdivision of the State of Utah and a part of CUP
which was formally established in 1964 to act as the local
entity to contract with the United States of America in
connection with the construction, operation, and financing
of the Central Utah Project (CUP).
The purpose of the Central Utah Project was and is to
enable the State of Utah to beneficially use a substantial
portion of its allotted share of the Colorado River water
under the Colorado River Compact.
In fact, the water from the project is so important to
Juab County that commissioners have considered a lawsuit to
get the water they were promised under the SFN (Spanish Fork
to Nephi) portion of the long-planned project.
The District sponsors the CUP which includes five
specific units. Each consists of a series of dams,
pipelines, reservoirs, tunnels, and aqueducts designed to
assist in meeting water needs of all 10 counties through
approximately the year 2020.
"We think getting water to Juab County is a top
priority," said Neil Cook, county commissioner. "We have
been exploring other alternatives."
Christiansen has asked the local water conservancy
district to put together several projects so that some could
be done in the next few years. Those projects would bring
water to the county and could be done fairly soon and would
not be part of the original CUP plan.
The District, primarily a wholesaler of water to other
cities and agencies, has the responsibility to plan, design,
construct, operate, and maintain Project facilities,
administer the sale and delivery of Project water, and repay
the federal government the reimbursable costs of the
CUP.
The Central Utah Water Conservancy District represents
the citizens of a 10-county area in administration, sale,
and delivery of water for the Central Utah Project (CUP), as
well as the operation and maintenance of the CUP
facilities.
"I didn't inherit a project without problems and with
promises which had been made which were impossible to keep,"
said Christiansen. "I am not here to blow smoke. I think we
have made a lot of progress in the 20 years I have been
around."
Water developed by the CUP is used for municipal,
industrial, irrigation, hydroelectric power, fish, wildlife,
conservation, and recreation purposes.
The District has developed water treatment facilities
in several communities. These facilities supply quality
culinary water to comply with ever increasing state and
federal drinking water standards and regulations.
The 10 counties now involved in the CUWCD are
Duchesne, Garfield, Piute, Sanpete, Juab, Salt Lake, Summit,
Wasatch, Uintah and Utah Counties.
A possible addition to a water-management improvement
plan will be the subject of a 7 p.m. public hearing on
Thursday, Oct. 16, at the Central Utah Water Conservancy
District, 355 W. University Parkway.
The supplement is a requirement of the Central Utah
Project Completion Act of 1994 and must be submitted every
three years.
According to the conservancy district, the supplement
includes a district-wide conservation goal, an inventory of
water conservation measures and other matters.
The proposal can be accessed on the Internet at
www.cuwcd.com, by mail or by calling the district at
801-226-7144.
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