Firm hired to work on Lake Powell pipeline

ST. GEORGE — Water from the proposed Lake Powell pipeline project could begin flowing toward St. George as early as 2020, said Eric Millis, deputy director of the Utah Division of Water Resources.

"We signed a $5.6 million contract for preliminary engineering services and environmental studies for the project," said Millis, following a project update he delivered to the Utah Board of Water Resources meeting in St. George on Wednesday. "This is a worldwide engineering and environmental firm that will help identify the alignment of the pipeline."

The $500 million pipeline would pump water from a station constructed just upstream from the Glen Canyon Dam through 66-inch pipes that run about 120 miles to Sand Hollow Reservoir near Hurricane in Washington County.

The project would bring 70,000 acre-feet of water to the rapidly growing area, with another 10,000 acre feet of water earmarked for Kanab. Another 38 miles of 30-inch pipe would deliver another 20,000 acre-feet of water from Sand Hollow Reservoir to Iron County.

Four companies submitted proposals for the project. The Colorado-based consulting firm Montgomery Watson Harza was selected to conduct the engineering and environmental studies over an 18-month time period, Millis said.

"Once that's completed, we'll start our National Environmental Policy Act compliance process and hope to start on the final design and construction work in 2013," he added. "We're hoping to have everything up and going as smoothly as possible by then."

The Board of Water Resources authorized funding the project at its Jan. 26 meeting.

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E-mail: nperkins@desnews.com