National plan aims to increase water supply in West

WASHINGTON — A new Department of Interior initiative announced Monday aims to boost the water supply in the thirsty West through an infusion of dollars and strategies aimed at patching infrastructure and boosting conservation efforts.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar signed an order establishing a new water sustainability strategy for the country, unveiling the agency's "WaterSMART Initiative" at a press conference.

"The federal government's existing water policies and programs simply aren't built for 21st century pressures on water supplies," he said. "Population growth. Climate change. Rising energy demands. Environmental needs. Aging infrastructure. Risks to drinking water supplies. Those are just some of the challenges," he said in a press release.

To fund the initiative, the 2011 budget proposed by President Barack Obama includes an additional $36.4 million for water programs.

Salazar, as part of his order, wants his department to increase the available water supply in the West for agricultural, municipal, industrial and environmental uses by 350,000 acre feet by 2012.

In addition to the proposed extra funding and increase in water supplies, Salazar announced a "water footprint reduction program" to achieve decreases in the overall consumption of potable water by 26 percent in 2020. A 20 percent reduction goal has been set for the same year for industrial and agricultural use of water.

Carly Burton, executive director of the Utah Water Users Association, said Salazar's goal of increasing water supplies in the West is lofty, but he's scratching his head at how it is going to be accomplished.

"The fact is you don't create more water. You have to manipulate the supply you have by wise use, conservation and reuse," Burton said.

There are a number of steps water managers can take to help augment supplies, such as changing outdated irrigation practices and reusing of treated-waste water on golf courses, but Burton said that all speaks to conservation practices and reuse.

Cities can fix aging, leaking pipes, but that can expensive, he added.

"There are ways out there, but it all boils down to money. There is no way to increase your water supply unless you build more dams. It is not going to come out of a magic well, that's for sure, and there are not many more dam sites left, quite frankly," he said.

Burton stressed that overall, the key factor is planning, pointing to this year's less-than-stellar snowpack.