Written by Dallas Hyland
There has been a bit of fanfare as of late over the recent (nothing in St. George politics with regards to projects and city council is recent, by the way) nod given to a group of developers to draw up plans for a water park in St. George.
On the one side, there are those who purport there’s nothing to worry about here. Calculations about consumptive water usage for such a project being less impactful than that, say, of alfalfa growth or golf course turf, maintain that this is a form of hand-wringing, if you will. Or so says an anonymous commenter on a recent letter to the editor in St. George News.
The same person goes on to make a great point in agreeing with the Utah Rivers Council assessment that subsidized water prices in Washington County exacerbate the water problem here. That if the Washington County Water Conservancy District’s taxing authority were revoked, and the true price of water were paid, the result would be a win/win of sorts. The higher water prices would drive consumers to conserve water, thus negating the need for the controversial Lake Powell pipe dream (pun intended), and would significantly lower property taxes for the citizens in the county.
These somewhat opposing views on the issue of water parks per se notwithstanding, I would suggest that perhaps there is something else that is causing some stir.
The semblance of impropriety.
It quite naturally confounds even the more rudimentary mind that, while in the middle of an aggressive campaign for the Lake Powell Pipeline premised in the “draconian” notion that we are running out of water and time, that we would build water gardens, wake board parks, and water parks.
The hubris this speaks of is, for some, almost too much to bear.
I recently traveled abroad and upon a return flight to the U.S., flew into Las Vegas. On approach, we could see the Colorado River and the dwindling reservoirs of Lake Mead and Lake Havasu. On final approach, I noted a small resort south of Las Vegas along I-15; lush green lawns strewn between homes and buildings, with palm trees and water ponds seemingly scattered throughout. But the vantage from some 15,000 feet revealed the sheer ludicrous nature of such a development, as its borders were surrounded by thousands of square miles of indigenous geography consisting of harsh desert environment.
Surely no reasonable person would maintain that such a place could subsist long-term.
It is an age-old contention, this notion of the subjugation of nature for the purpose of economy and lifestyle.
In his book “Bringing it to the Table,” I think Wendell Berry summed it up well when he said, “Despite the immense power and violence that we have deployed against her, nature is handing us one defeat after another. Even our most grievous offenses against her — as in the present epidemic of habitat destruction and species extinction — we are being defeated, for in the long run we can less afford the losses than nature can.”
Just because we can transform what is irrefutably a desert environment through subjugation of geography and species with the authority granted by what I aptly call “Zionistic dominionism” does not mean we should.
This is to say that I think the notion that God gave us the authority over Earth to use it solely for our benefit and pleasure is a hijacked version of the prudence and stewardship that the documents presented to us by this community say.
And, oddly enough, that very mindset, with regards to stewardship, aligns quite well with those who oppose these audacious water projects being “pitched” to us in the name of our best interest.
Ask yourself what the real motive for the Lake Powell Pipeline is, and you will find it is the same motive for a water park. Profit.
One by way of providing a fun and entertaining place to go, and the other by using scare tactics to convince a herd-like constituency to fall in line and allow the continuance of a very flawed and elitist system to prevail.
I encourage you to attend one of the many WCWCD meetings about the pipeline and pay close attention to those who sit on the panel. You might find it curiously odd, as I do, that it largely consists of bankers, developers, and real estate agents.
Nothing against these professions, mind you, but if you abide the creed of following the money trail, it is perhaps telling of the motive behind such a project.
Like my dad told me when I was young, if you don’t have a plan for yourself, someone else does. And it might not be as much in your best interest as you think.
Give it some thought.
See you out there.
Clarification: An earlier version of this article stated that St. George City Council had approved plans for a water park. At this point, the council has only agreed to consider selling property to developers who plans to build a water park there, however they have not yet voted to approve the actual property sale.
