Utah has a right to water from Lake Powell under the 1922 interstate agreement that set up the Colorado River Compact. The river's available waters are divided between upper and lower basins, with most of Utah in the Upper Colorado River Basin.

But St. George is on the Virgin River, which is part of the Lower Colorado River Basin. Whether diverting Utah's Upper Basin share for a Lower Basin area is legal under the compact could be subject to debate.

"There's some question" about the legality of using Upper Basin water for a Lower Basin project, he said. But the other Upper Basin states have agreed not to oppose the use.

Alter argued that it's important to develop Utah's share of the water, saying it is coveted by Nevada and California. "They'll fight for it harder later than they would now," he said. Utah owns 370,000 acre-feet of unused Colorado River water rights.

"It's our water and we can use it," he said.

Jeffrey Steadman of the Utah Rivers Council argued against the projects, advocating instead better water conservation.

Following the vote, Merrett Frey, the group's executive director, said parts of the state like Salt Lake City, Utah County and Moab will not receive any of the water from the projects. Yet individual shoppers throughout the entire state will see their sales tax money used to finance the projects.

Even though the water districts will repay the state, Frey said, that won't return money to the shoppers in those areas.

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