PROVO — The Central Utah Water Conservancy District plans to raise property taxes 16 percent in the near future to help fund the Utah Lake System project that will eventually funnel 30,000-acre feet of water annually to the Salt Lake Valley and a similar amount to 10 water-short cities in the south end of Utah County.

During a presentation to the Utah County Commission earlier this week, water officials said the ULS's potential environmental impact has been under review for nearly five years.

The $150 million that local taxpayers would pay over a 10- to 12-year period represents only 35 percent of the total money needed for the project; the rest would come from federal funds. Local contributions to the project would be paid up front on an annual basis.

One possible holdup for the ULS involves concerns over the welfare of the endangered June sucker fish. Native to Utah Lake, the June sucker may have a "safe habitat" created for it at the Mona reservoir in Juab County in order to mitigate any adverse effects the ULS could potentially have on Utah Lake water levels and, consequently, June sucker numbers.

Another question that remains unanswered is where the southbound ULS pipes would go. Because almost all of the county roads in south Utah County are proscriptive easements, the county doesn't hold the rights to the ground beneath the roads, only access to the roads themselves.

The design of the ULS is likely to begin within a year once the project is approved by the CUWCD's board of trustees, said Chris Finlinson, the district's governmental affairs director.

The tax increase would be the first imposed by the CUWCD in the past eight years, and only the second increase in the last 20 years. It will raise an additional $4.5 million annually for the water district, and amount to 53 cents per month for the average Utah County home, Finlinson said.

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