"Urban runoff is some of the most poisonous stuff. There is very little watershed planning in the Provo River. I expect to see a long-term decline. What Summit County and Wasatch County are approving in their master plans will eventually end up in Salt Lake County residents' drinking water. I don't believe there has been suitable consideration of these impacts," he said.

Dave Ovard, general manager of the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District, which owns 50,000 acre-feet of Jordanelle water, disagrees.

"My dealings with Zach (Frankel) tend to suggest he never has any facts and never knows what he is talking about," Ovard said bluntly. "We are all very concerned that Jordanelle could decline, and we are going to be watching very carefully to try to make sure it doesn't."

Even Jordanelle's master plan warns that development could result in increased water runoff and hurt the fisheries of Jordanelle.

"Salts, chemicals and siltation from these increased flows could pollute the stream and upper arm of the reservoir," the plan states.

To prevent such contamination, the Jordanelle Technical Advisory Committee — a group composed of government and water entities sharing interests in Jordanelle — was formed 20 years ago.

"It's a sounding board, an opportunity to get our voice heard. They are very responsive to the concerns of Salt Lake City," said Florence Reynolds, water quality and treatment administrator for Salt Lake City and a member of JTAC.

Notwithstanding Reynolds' confidence in JTAC, she thinks Jordanelle would be better off left undeveloped.

"I'm one of those people that would like to just fence it off and not use it and not allow for that development and not invite the potential for a problem," Reynolds said. "If you had your wishes, would you develop up there? Probably not. . . . There are watersheds all over this country that are fenced off in New York, San Francisco and Seattle. That's how they protect their water supply."

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