Even though she'll be out of office in less than two months, Gov. Olene Walker announced Monday that she's forming a new task force on financing future state water projects.

The Water Delivery Financing Task Force, charged with looking specifically at proposals for the Lake Powell pipeline and a water delivery system for the Bear River, is to report its findings to the new governor next July.

"It's something she's been working on for a while," Walker's spokeswoman, Amanda Covington, said. "It's not really that she's kind of sprung it out. It's an issue that faces the state whether she's governor or someone else is governor."

The governor created the task force by executive order in October, but it took until now to confirm all of the members, Covington said.

Covington said she did not know whether Walker had talked with Gov.-elect Jon Huntsman Jr. about forming the task force. The pair met after the election for several hours to discuss the transition.

Huntsman said during the campaign he supports the Lake Powell pipeline, as well as other water development projects. "Water development is too important to our quality of life to be put on hold," he said in response to a Deseret Morning News candidate questionnaire.

The Lake Powell project alone, which would bring water to the fast-growing St. George area, carries a price tag of more than $300 million. Pumping water from the Bear River into Willard Bay and then piping it to the Wasatch Front would cost some $260 million.

In a press release, Walker emphasized the need to move quickly.

"The reality is that the demand for water in some growing areas of the state could exceed the supply within the next 25 to 30 years," she said. "Because projects of this nature take substantial planning and time, we must begin the process now."

The task force will hold its first meeting on Nov. 22. Members are being asked to look at financing options, including bonding that will make water users ultimately responsible for paying for the projects.

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