Lifeline or pipe dream? Commission candidates split on $1 billion Lake Powell Pipeline
Written by Michael Flynn
With election day fast approaching, the candidates for the Washington County Commissioner’s office visited The Independent to discuss their ideas about the proposed Lake Powell Pipeline Project, a 69-inch water pipeline planned to run for approximately 140 miles from Lake Powell to Washington County. Preliminary estimates have set the cost of the pipeline project at just under $1 billion.
Representatives from the Washington County Water Conservancy District Board say that the pipeline, which is expected to deliver up to 82,000 annual acre feet of water, is the region’s best bet to bring sufficient water to the area to keep up with projected population increases. Without a water source as plentiful as Lake Powell, they say that Washington County is likely to run out of clean drinkable water in the coming decades.
However, some critics of the project have said that they believe the pipeline could end up costing several times as much as estimated, and that, given long-term drought conditions across the west, there might not always be enough water flowing into the lake from the Colorado River to meet regional water needs.
Republican Zachary Renstrom and Democrat Chris White are running for commission seat A, while former Utah State Attorney General Paul Van Dan is running as a Democrat against Republican Victor Iverson, for seat B. Below, the candidates discuss their ideas about the pipeline and their respective visions for future growth in Washington County.
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Zachary Renstrom, Republican candidate for Washington County Commission seat A, discusses the proposed Lake Powell Pipeline project with Independent reporter Michael Flynn, Oct. 30, 2014.
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Chris White, Democratic candidate for Washington County Commission seat A, discusses the proposed Lake Powell Pipeline project with Independent reporter Michael Flynn, Oct. 30, 2014.
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Victor Iverson, Republican candidate for Washington County Commission seat B, discusses the proposed Lake Powell Pipeline project with Independent reporter Michael Flynn, Oct. 29, 2014.
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Paul Van Dam, Democratic candidate for Washington County Commission seat B, discusses the proposed Lake Powell Pipeline project with Independent reporter Michael Flynn, Oct. 29, 2014.
This article is part of the debut SUNDAY EDITION for November 2nd, 2014.Read all the other content here:
