Huntsman signs into law Lake Powell Pipeline project

CEDAR CITY — Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. signed SB27 into law Wednesday, making the much anticipated $354 million Lake Powell Pipeline an official state project.

"This is a remarkable occasion, I hope you realize that," Huntsman said during a signing ceremony held in Cedar City before several dozen elected officials and others involved in water resource management. "The chances are quite good that when my great-great-great-grandfathers were first sitting around talking, it was about water, and we're still talking about it today."

The pipeline project, with its pumping stations, reservoir and other facilities, would extend roughly 120 miles from Lake Powell to Sand Hollow Reservoir in Washington County. It would bring 70,000 acre feet of water to Washington County, 10,000 acre feet to Kane County, and 20,000 acre feet to Iron County. Funding avenues for the multi-county project have yet to be finalized.

"This is an important day as we move this project forward," said Ron Thompson, manager of the Washington County Water Conservancy District. "As we look around southern Utah, water is a scarce resource. This project delivers the future."

The Lake Powell Pipeline project would allow Utah to tap into its unused portion of the upper Colorado River water. The state currently uses 74 percent of its annual allocation and the rest simply flows downstream, according to a fact sheet on the project.

Sen. Tom Hatch, R-Panguitch, who carried SB27 through the Senate, said the pipeline is essential for all of southern Utah.

"If you want to stop growth, you stop the water," said Hatch, who is retiring this year from the Legislature. "Ten or 15 years down the road we will run out of water. We need to do something now."

Growth in several southern Utah counties continues to stun local and state officials, and more water is needed simply to keep up with projected demands, said Rep. Michael Noel, R-Kanab.

"We have outpaced growth projections. We'll need this water sooner rather than later," Noel said. "This is a southern Utah project, not just a Washington County project."

Feasibility studies will need to be conducted to find the least costly alignment of the pipeline with the fewest effects on the environment, he added.

"That's the first hurdle, the environment," Noel said. "But I think we can work through that."

Scott Wilson, manager of the Iron County Water Conservancy District, said the pipeline project is needed to secure the county's long-term economic development goals.

"Without more water we won't be able to maintain the lifestyle we enjoy, either," he said. "This is a huge step for us, but it's an essential step. The opportunity to add water into this area is very limited. This pipeline needs to happen."

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